D.C. Circuit Rules Against FTC in FOIA Case

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against the FTC in the agency’s case against the nonprofit organization Action, which had filed three Freedom of Information Act requests and said it should be exempt from paying the costs associated with the requests, said court documents released Tuesday. Judge Merrick Garland wrote the opinion for the court, on behalf of Judges Janice Brown and David Sentelle, and said Action’s claims it’s exempt from covering the costs of the FOIA requests were “not moot” because the information is in the public’s interest and the records aren't for commercial use. “The case must be remanded for reconsideration in light of the entire administrative record and our clarification of the standards for FOIA fee waivers,” said the ruling. The FTC didn’t comment.