FCC Dismisses Appeal of FOIA Decision around Net Neutrality Proposal

On November 22, 2017, you [Jarrod Sharp] appealed the denial of your application for a fee waiver in connection with your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, FOIA Control No. 2018-067. By this letter, we dismiss your appeal. On October 26, 2017, you filed a FOIA request with the Commission, seeking 1) a copy of the “‘Restoring Internet Freedom’ plan,” 2) documents regarding the Commission’s release of the plan, and 3) documents discussing the Commission’s DDOS attack claims. This request was assigned FOIA Control No. 2018-067. Included in your request was an application for a fee waiver, the justification for which stated, in its entirety, “Noncommercial purpose.”

On November 22, 2017, the Office of General Counsel denied your fee waiver, noting that your fee waiver justification lacked any explanation of how the general public would benefit from the production of the requested records. Particularly, the Office of General Counsel concluded that you had not demonstrated that you had the means, ability, or intent to disseminate the information in a manner that would be of general benefit to the public. The Office of the General Counsel also provided you with an estimate of the fees necessary to process your request, which totaled $343.48.