The nine main Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) Exemptions
The following are the nine main exemptions of FOIA:
The first exemption is about the national defense or the state foreign policy. The exemption allows the withholding of documents that are properly classified. The basis for the first exemption is the protection of foreign policy or national defense.
The second exemption is related to the internal practices of an agency.
The third exemption is about the documents whose disclosure is exempted by a statue other than FOIA whose disclosure is absolute.
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The fourth disclosure protects the disclosure of trade secrets or financial information obtained from a confidential source.
Exemption five protects intra or interagency letters (Goldenson, 2001). This exemption is often invoked against public interest requesters to protect an agency’s processes as well as conclusions.
Exemption six protects personal privacy of a person. It includes the protection of personal information such as an individual’s medical records.
Exemption seven protects information or records that have been obtained by law enforcement officers.
Exemption eight protects all the information prepared on behalf of the agencies in charge of the regulation of the financial institutions (Halstuk, 2005). It involves protecting information about the operation of a bank supervisory agency.
Finally, exemption nine protects documents that can reveal oil well data. Documents which would reveal oil well data such as geophysical, geographical, and maps of oil wells.
Extra Credit Response
FERPA is a federal law that safeguards the student education records’ privacy. As a student of UMUC, FERPA is my friend since I would not be happy if third parties gain access to my grades, loan disbursement, or any other personal information submitted to UMUC. FERMA is related to HIPAA since they both protect personal information from access by third parties. With regards to the nine exemptions, the main barrier is that the Patriot Act gives government agencies more power that overrides the Fourth Amendment (Graham, 2004). Thus, the government can access most of my private information at will.
References
Goldenson, D. G. (2001). FOIA exemption five: Will it protect government scientists from unfair intrusion. BC Envtl. Aff. L Rev., 29, 311.
Graham, N. (2004). Patriot act II and denationalization: An unconstitutional attempt to revive stripping Americans of their citizenship. Clev. St. L. Rev., 52, 593.
Halstuk, M. E. (2005). When is an Invasion of Privacy Unwarranted under the FOIA-An Analysis of the Supreme Court's Sufficient Reason and Presumption of Legitimacy Standards. U. Fla. JL & Pub. Pol'y, 16, 361.
