The FOIA generally provides that any person (with the exception of another federal agency, a fugitive from the law, or a representative of a foreign government) has the right, enforceable in court, to request access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions thereof) are protected from disclosure by one of nine exemptions. As part of the Agency's compliance with the Electronic FOIA (E-FOIA) requirements, the NRO posts FOIA information that will inform the public of NRO missions and functions. For information on how to submit a FOIA request, please refer to FOIA.gov.
The Information Review and Release Group (IRRG) administers the NRO’s FOIA program. The goal of the FOIA program is to release as much information as possible, consistent with the need to protect classified and sensitive information under the exemption provisions of the law. Where discretionary releases can be made without causing harm, the Chief of the IRRG, as the Initial Denial Authority, and the Chief Information Officer, as the Appellate Authority, use their discretion to release information even where an exemption may be available.
Because of the sensitivity of NRO's functions and activities, the most often cited exemptions are (b)(1) (national security information) and (b)(3) (exemption by statute). The statutes most often applied to the protection of information are the following:
- 10 U.S.C. § 424 which states: "Except as required by the President or as provided in subsection (c), no provision of law shall be construed to require the disclosure of (1) The organization or any function ...(2)... number of persons employed by or assigned or detailed to any such organization or the name, official title, occupational series, grade, or salary of any such person ...(b) Covered Organizations ... the National Reconnaissance Office";
- 50 U.S.C. § 432a, which exempts operational files of the NRO from the publication, disclosure, search and review provisions of the FOIA.
Additional information can be found in DoD Manual 5400.07, Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) Program.