(a) Requirements for waiver or reduction of fees. (1) Records
responsive to a request will be furnished without charge or at a charge
reduced below that established under paragraph (d) of Sec. 70.40 where
a Disclosure Officer determines, based on all available information, that
the requester has demonstrated that:
(i) Disclosure of the requested information is in the public
interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public
understanding of the operations or activities of the government, and
(ii) Disclosure of the information is not primarily in the
commercial interest of the requester.
(2) To determine whether the requirement of paragraph (a)(1)(i) of
this section is met, components will consider the following factors:
(i) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the
requested records concerns ``the operations or activities of the
government.'' The subject of the requested records must concern
identifiable operations or activities of the federal government, with a
connection that is direct and clear, not remote or attenuated.
(ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed:
Whether the disclosure is ``likely to contribute'' to an understanding
of government operations or activities. The disclosable portions of the
requested records must be meaningfully informative about government
operations or activities in order to be ``likely to contribute'' to an
increased public understanding of those operations or activities. The
disclosure of information that already is in the public domain, in
either a duplicative or a substantially identical form, would not be as
likely to contribute to such understanding where nothing new would be
added to the public's understanding.
(iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the
public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of the
requested information will contribute to ``public understanding.'' The
disclosure must contribute to the understanding of a reasonably broad
audience of persons interested in the subject, as opposed to the
individual understanding of the requester. A requester's expertise in
the subject area and ability and intention to effectively convey
information to the public will be considered. It will be presumed that
a representative of the news media will satisfy this consideration.
(iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding:
Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute ``significantly'' to
public understanding of government operations or activities. The
public's understanding of the subject in question must be enhanced by
the disclosure to a significant extent.
(3) To determine whether the requirement of paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of
this section is met, components will consider the following factors:
(i) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether
the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the
requested disclosure. The Disclosure Officer will consider any
commercial interest of the requester (with reference to the definition
of ``commercial use request'' in Sec. 70.38(f)), or of any person on
whose behalf the requester may be acting, that would be furthered by
the requested disclosure. Requesters will be given an opportunity in
the administrative process to provide explanatory information regarding
this consideration.
(ii) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether any identified
commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in
comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is
``primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.'' A fee waiver
or reduction is justified where the public interest standard is
satisfied and that public interest is greater in magnitude than that of
any identified commercial interest in disclosure. The Disclosure
Officer ordinarily will presume that where a news media requester has
satisfied the public interest standard, the public interest will be the
interest primarily served by disclosure to that requester. Disclosure
to data brokers or others who merely compile and market government
information for direct economic return will not be presumed to
primarily serve the public interest.
(4) Where only some of the records to be released satisfy the
requirements for a waiver of fees, a waiver will be granted only for
those records.
(5) Requests for the waiver or reduction of fees should address the
factors listed in paragraph (a) of this section, insofar as they apply
to each request.
(b) Submission. Requests for waiver or reduction of fees must be
submitted along with the request or before processing of the request
has been commenced.
(c) Appeal rights. The procedures for appeal under 70.22 and 70.23
will control.