Freedom of Information Act

American

noun

U.S. Government.

a law enacted in 1966 requiring that government records except those relating to national security, confidential financial data, and law enforcement be made available to the public on request. FOIA

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The group moved their communications off government servers to avoid requests under the Freedom of Information Act, according to emails cited in court documents.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

The note was in an email chain obtained by the nonprofit watchdog group American Oversight through the Freedom of Information Act and shared exclusively with The Times.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Since January of 2025, the Knight First Amendment Institute of Columbia University has been pushing Cannon to release Smith’s report under the Freedom of Information Act.

From Slate • Feb. 26, 2026

Why limit the capacity of the Freedom of Information Act to allow probing questions of the monarchy?

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

Cryptome's brave publishers collect material that's been pried out of the state by Freedom of Information Act requests or leaked by whistle-blowers and publishes it.

From Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023