Freedom of Information Act

 CIA Drones Acknowledgment

Brief

What is the Freedom of Information Act? Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), is known to supply the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. This Act was enacted in 1967 by Lyndon Johnson but wasn't effective until the summer of July.

History

According to eff.org, the proposal for the Act was first created by Democratic Congressman John Moss in 1955 during the Cold War when the government began to swear to confidentiality. Though it was pushed by Lyndon Johnson, John Moss was still providing his support in the matter by helping push the bill once again. 

The only issue with the new bill was the fear that the government wouldn't hold up its part of the bargain and ultimately take complete control of it until John Moss pushed for the bill once more, but this time with very specific guidelines and rules that must be applied. The ruling was unanimous, though it was extremely difficult to give the bill legs to stand on.

How it is being used today

After in-depth explorations, the bill is practical to protect all forms of  records that are accessible to the public which include:

Drafts 

Emails

Notes

Recordings of any conversation

CCTV recordings

These are just a few imprints that are secured by the Freedom of Information Act but are not limited by any means since one can find information about someone in a quick matter.

Examples of FOIA

In 2013, Wired expressed that there was an issue with the Freedom of Information Act not being used when asked to do such. This issue was when the CIA refused to come forth to provide the public with the claims of the killer Drones that were used by al-Qaeda.

Though the CIA was not upfront with the information that they had, the past president Barack Obama stepped to the plate and put out a statement that the United States has known about the Drones, the rumors are true, and the US is the one responsible for them.

The CIA still was silent on the matter, though it further exposes the claims of the Freedom of Information Act being broken. The case was brought upon by the American Civil Liberties Union when the CIA was not willing to cooperate in giving further information about the killer drones that were being used in the military without prior knowledge to all.

For many reasons that could be inferred, the CIA's claim to not provide information to the public about this matter is because they felt as if they would be exposing more than needed to be shedding any light on the situation. In basic terms, they just did not want to tell of their plans and now that everyone knows of the devices, it makes it even harder to keep the secret under-raps. 

Honestly, if it were completely exposed, I do feel as though it would make the situation worse since other leading countries have been suspected of using those same devices for years.

My Remarks

The reason that the United States is getting such backlash on the situation is that when any other matters have happened in the United States, all forms of government and securities have been compliant in providing information until now. This country is known as the 'Land of the Free', so when such a statement is made, it raises concerns that the US does not have their civilians' best interest at heart by telling them everything especially when it comes to their safety. 

Conclusion

The United States is not exempt from doing the right thing by protecting its people by any means possible, even if it interrupts their plans, so be it. In the future, the United States has to be up-front with its plans of any such when asked by the public due to the Freedom of Information Act that they agreed on years ago.