In plain terms. FOIA is the law that gives the public a right to request records from federal agencies, and requires agencies to publish certain information on their own.
Who it applies to. Federal agencies (which must disclose) and anyone — including contractors and the public — who requests records.
What it requires.
- Agencies must publish core information in the Federal Register: their structure, how to request records, their decision-making process, and their rules.
- Agencies must make final opinions, orders, and staff manuals available for public inspection.
- If an agency wrongly withholds records, federal district courts review the matter fresh ("de novo"), the agency bears the burden of justifying the withholding, and the court can hold a non-complying agency in contempt.
Why it matters. FOIA balances transparency against protection of sensitive material. Its exemptions cover classified or controlled unclassified information, internal personnel rules, trade secrets, confidential financial information, attorney work product, law-enforcement files, certain geological data, and anything exempted by other statutes — categories that matter when your contract data could become the subject of a request.
Citation. Pub. L. 89-487 (July 4, 1966).
Agency FOIA regulations; DOJ Office of Information Policy guidance; "submitter notice" procedures under E.O. 12600.