As someone who has filed more Freedom of Information requests than the average American, I stand in awe of organizations like EFF, the ACLU, and EPIC for their tireless efforts to uncover what goes on in government. EPIC has this update on their efforts:
Federal judges have recently issued orders compelling government agencies to produce documents in two open government cases pursued by EPIC. In EPIC v. Office of Director of National Intelligence, 12-1282, EPIC is seeking information about a plan to integrate databases across the federal government, without the legal safeguards typically in place for personal data held by government agencies. (EPIC press release). In response to the EPIC FOIA lawsuit, a federal judge has ordered the agency to disclose the procedures it has established to safeguard privacy rights. In EPIC v. DHS, 12-333, EPIC is seeking documents about the monitoring of the Internet that some Justice Department officials believe may “run afoul of privacy laws forbidding government surveillance of private Internet traffic.” The government sought a 16 month extension. The court has ordered the agency to start producing documents in the next month. For more information, see EPIC – Open Government