FBI Cannot Rely On Glomar Response In FOIA Suit Over Social Media Surveillance

Mealey's (November 21, 2019, 12:11 PM EST) -- SAN FRANCISCO — Denying a motion for partial summary judgment by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), a California federal judge on Nov. 18 found that the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not meet its burden to invoke a “Glomar response” to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in which the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLUF) sought production of documents and information related to the bureau’s social media surveillance techniques (American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, et al. v. U.S. Department of Justice, et al., No. 3:19-cv-00290, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 199607)....