An Informed Public Assures That Federal Agencies Will Better Comply With Freedom of Information/Privacy Laws

GAO was requested to analyze data on litigation arising from laws governing disclosure of and access to public records. Congress intended that the open Government laws it enacted or strengthened would rely on citizen enforcement to ensure effective compliance. Data on the implications of the growing court case load, the extent to which agencies prevailed on the issues litigated in court, and the extent of the information provided by the Government to the requestors during the litigation were studied for a 3-year period before they were analyzed.