FOI Man looks at whether a named individual’s FOI requests should be published or disclosed. Guardian writer Ben Goldacre asked on Twitter whether public authorities are able to publish or disclose the names of FOI …
Do FOI Officers share the names of requesters with colleagues and under what circumstances?
There are cultural and legal differences between US and UK attitudes to personal data. We need to think carefully about whether we want a US style approach before deciding to publish details of all public employees.
There is no single FOI profession – every organisation has different processes; officers have differing views and approaches. It is the FOI Officer’s job to challenge assumptions within the organisation about what can be disclosed.
There are many good reasons why public officials might feel unhappy for their details to be disclosed.
