Should Everyone Know Everything?: The Freedom of Information Act vs. Governmental and National Security

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) defines the public’s fundamental right to information about the government and its functions. Although federal acts and other similar acts implemented at the state level are fundamental, they do create a challenge of balancing. Such balancing involves the weighing of the public’s right to information, and the risk imposed upon government and national security by providing such information. This paper will explore such balancing imposed by the freedom of information. First, this paper will provide a national overview of FOIA and explore the Federal Open Meetings Law implemented by the federal government of the United States. Additionally, this paper will discuss current outsourcing of information requests and other FOIA policies within the Obama Administration. Second, this paper will examine what policies Texas has implemented in regards to FOIA and also discuss the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) and the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA). Additionally, topics regarding public information in the context of the current legislative session, and the current issues and recent litigation regarding TPIA and TOMA will also be examined.