Certain records or documents that may cause harm to a particular interest of the government are exempt from FOIA requests. Exemptions have been created under federal law that protect these interests. A brief summary of each follows.
- Records corrently and properly classified in the interest of national security.
- Records related solely to internal personal rules and practices that, if released, would allow for circumvention of agency functions.
- Records protected by another law that specifically exempts the records from public release.
- Trade secrets, commercial or financial information obtained from a private source that could cause substantial competitive harm to the source if disclosed.
- Internal records that are deliberative in nature, contain opinions and recommendations and are part of the decision-making process.
- Records that, if released, would result in a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
- Investigative records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes.
- Records for the use of any agency responsible for regulation or supervision of financial institutions.
- Records containing geological and geographical information (including maps) concerning wells.
A list of the exemptions can be found at the Air Force FOIA site: 5 USC (b)(3) Statutes (.doc). |
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