The Evolving Landscape of FOIA Requests and the Challenge of Bots

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) took effect on July 5, 1967. Its purpose is to provide the public with transparency into government operations and ensure accountability. Essentially, it was designed to establish a procedural pathway for citizens, media outlets, watchdog organizations, and nonprofits to track and understand government actions. But that process is being challenged in a new way with the rise of AI.

While government employees work diligently to provide requested information in a timely manner, processing FOIA requests quickly and accurately takes thoughtful consideration and sufficient staffing. And with budgets and workforces stretched thin at every level of government, fulfilling FOIA requests in a timely manner while ensuring sensitive information remains protected has always been a delicate balancing act.

Unfortunately, bad actors are making this even more challenging. They’re using AI-driven bots to flood government agencies and departments with an insurmountable number of FOIA requests. For at least most of these actors, their actions seem to be motivated by one of two goals:

• To overwhelm government systems
• To conduct sprawling fishing expeditions for information

Bots are bogging down the FOIA process — and adding to the FOIA request backlog

The anti-government actors leveraging these automated systems have no desire to gather information in the name of public interest. They seek to hinder a government department’s ability to serve its internal and external stakeholders, severely overwhelming the government personnel tasked with processing FOIA requests, leading to bottlenecks, delays, and mistakes.

Other actors with more ambiguous intentions are employing bots to cast a wide net in search of uncovering any potentially incriminating information. However, because a given actor tends to lack any direction in the hunt for concrete proof, they resort to bombarding government departments with bots in hopes of finding the proverbial needle in the haystack.

But regardless of an actor’s reason behind the use of bots in FOIA request submissions, the outcome remains the same: An overwhelmed government workforce struggling to shift through bot-driven submission and resolve legitimate FOIA requests.

Struggling to keep up: How government is responding

Government agencies are already challenged by limited staffing and resources, making it difficult to meet the FOIA mandate of responding to requests within 20 days. The introduction of bot-generated requests exacerbates this issue, placing an impossible burden on existing personnel who are not equipped to handle the sudden influx of high-volume demands. This situation highlights the inadequacies in current FOIA processing capacities and the urgent necessity for technological and legislative advancements.

Technological and legislative solutions

Addressing the bot problem effectively requires a two-pronged approach that includes:

• Enhancing technology
• Updating legislation

The need for better technology is evident. Innovations in AI and cybersecurity must be leveraged to develop more robust defenses against bot submissions. This includes advanced CAPTCHA systems, improved authentication methods, and new algorithms designed to detect and block bot traffic more effectively.

Recently, several measures such as CAPTCHA have been implemented on agency portals and the FOIA.gov website to deter bots. CAPTCHA tests are designed to distinguish human users from bots by having users identify images or solve simple puzzles. Despite these efforts, determined bots still find ways to circumvent these barriers, indicating that the technology in place is not foolproof. However, introducing the CAPTCHA measure is a good first step in filtering bots out of the FOIA process.

On the legislative front, there is a clear need to revisit the original FOIA act. Introducing laws that explicitly prohibit or limit the submission of FOIA requests by bots could provide a legal framework to address this growing issue. Moreover, legislation could include provisions that absolve agencies from the obligation to respond to requests identified as bot-generated, allowing them to focus on legitimate inquiries.

Keeping bots at bay in the FOIA process

The misuse of bots in FOIA requests poses a significant threat to the original intent of the act, which is to ensure government transparency and accountability. While advancements in technology bring about new challenges, they also offer potential solutions. A combination of improved technological measures and updated legislative action is essential to safeguard the efficacy of FOIA against the disruptive impact of bots.

As we move forward, it is crucial to adapt and evolve our approaches to maintain the integrity of public access to government information, ensuring that the spirit of FOIA continues to thrive in the face of new obstacles.

Learn more about how FOIAXpress can help you safeguard your FOIA workflows from bot submissions.