Freedom of Information Act (United States)

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA),, is a federal law. It allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The law defines agency records subject to disclosure. It outlines mandatory disclosure procedures and grants nine exemptions to the law. It was originally signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, despite his doubts, on July 4, 1966 and went into effect the following year.