Lexicon · Concept

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a 1966 United States law that allows anyone to request the release of documents held by federal government agencies. In UFO research, it is the main tool for obtaining government records.

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a United States law passed in 1966 that allows anyone, regardless of citizenship, to request in writing the release of documents held by federal executive branch agencies (for example, the Department of Defense, the FBI, the CIA or NASA). The law does not apply to Congress or the courts. It has been amended several times over the years; the most significant change came with the 1974 amendment, passed after the Watergate scandal, which significantly strengthened the rights of requesters.

How it works

The request must be submitted to the FOIA office of the agency concerned. In principle, the agency must respond within 20 working days, but in practice processing often drags on for months, sometimes years. The law contains nine exemptions: certain records, such as those classified for national security reasons, those containing personal data or those belonging to internal deliberations, may be withheld, or released only in part, with redactions. A denial can be appealed and, ultimately, challenged with a lawsuit in court.

Role in UFO/UAP research

FOIA is one of the most important tools through which researchers, journalists and civil organizations can access government UFO records. The UFO files made public after the 1974 amendment, including FBI and CIA records, were released in large part under the law. In 1978, a group called Ground Saucer Watch secured the release of some 900 pages of documents through a lawsuit against the CIA. Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS) sued the National Security Agency (NSA), but the court approved the withholding of the records for national security reasons. Today the best-known FOIA-based collection is John Greenewald's online archive called “The Black Vault.”

Views

According to some researchers, the redactions and the protracted processing show the agencies' secretiveness. According to the official finding, the restrictions serve legitimate purposes, such as protecting national security and personal data. Skeptics emphasize that the released records mostly concern reports with mundane explanations and administrative correspondence.

Related stories