The FBI's New FOIA Policy Is a Big Step Backward

As of March 1, the FBI will no longer accept Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests via e-mail. Anyone seeking public records from the FBI will have to use a new online portal — or send requests via fax or snail mail. Online FOIA portals may seem like a good idea in theory, but government agencies make them difficult to use — with way too many burdensome requirements.

The Freedom of Information Act gives us a legal right to request public records, which allow journalists and watchdogs to hold the government accountable. FOIA requests uncovered harmful covert operations like COINTELPRO — an FBI program designed to dismantle civil rights groups, among others — and also exposed government surveillance of Black Lives Matter activists.