Animal Legal Defense Fund v. U.S. Dep't of Agric.

The Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") requires federal agencies to make certain agency records "available for public inspection in an electronic format." 5 U.S.C. § 552 (a)(2). FOIA's judicial-review provision authorizes district courts to enjoin violations of this "reading-room" provision. See id. § 552(a)(4)(B).

BACKGROUND

The Legal Landscape

Congress designed FOIA "to pierce the veil of administrative secrecy and to open agency action to the light of public scrutiny." Dep't of Air Force v. Rose , 425 U.S. 352 , 361, 96 S.Ct. 1592 , 48 L.Ed.2d 11 (1976) (quoting Rose v. Dep't of Air Force , 495 F.2d 261 , 263 (2d Cir. 1974) ). Corruption, government inefficiency, and mistrust of public institutions all flourish "unless the people are permitted to know what their government is up to. " See Dep't of Justice v. Reporters Comm. for Freedom of the Press , 489 U.S. 749 , 772-73, 109 S.Ct. 1468 , 103 L.Ed.2d 774 (1989) (quoting EPA v. Mink , 410 U.S. 73 , 105, 93 S.Ct. 827 , 35 L.Ed.2d 119 (1973) (Douglas, J., dissenting)); see also id. at 772 n.20, 109 S.Ct. 1468 . After all, public scrutiny and an informed citizenry are "vital to the functioning of a democratic society, needed…