Commercial requester prevalence limits FOIA’s intended use for democratic oversight.

Evidence

I document the scope and nature of commercial and first-person requests here and argue that those requests largely fulfill purposes other than democratic oversight. — David E Pozen; Michael Schudson, Troubling Transparency- The History and…, 353 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

These are businesses whose very business model is to request records under FOIA and to resell those records at a profit. … At five of the six agencies at which I studied the commercial use of FOIA, information resellers were among the most frequent requesters. — David E Pozen; Michael Schudson, Troubling Transparency- The History and…, 359 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: FOIA’s limitations challenge the assumption it can provide constitutional-like rights. — David E Pozen; Michael Schudson, Troubling Transparency- The History and…, 304; Commercial requests diminish the original democratic intent of FOIA. — David E Pozen; Michael Schudson, Troubling Transparency- The History and…, 353; Heavier users of FOIA requests include businesses, law firms, and individuals. (+1 more)

Related

• Heavier users of FOIA requests include businesses, law firms, and individuals. (similarity 0.94)
• Certain businesses profit by reselling records obtained through FOIA requests. (similarity 0.91)
• Commercial requests diminish the original democratic intent of FOIA. (similarity 0.86)
• Opposition to FOIA did not solely stem from self-interest. (similarity 0.79)
• FOIA’s limitations challenge the assumption it can provide constitutional-like rights. (similarity 0.79)

Library Connections

• Commercial requests diminish the original democratic intent of FOIA. #corroborates (0.95) — David E Pozen; Michael Schudson, Troubling Transparency- The History and…, 353

Broader Connections

• Heavier users of FOIA requests include businesses, law firms, and individuals. #expands (0.75)
• Certain businesses profit by reselling records obtained through FOIA requests. #exemplifies (0.65) — David E Pozen; Michael Schudson, Troubling Transparency- The History and…, 359