The Foilies are EFF's tongue-in-cheek "awards" given each year during Sunshine Week to government agencies and other institutions and authorities that thwart the public's right to access information. Since 2015, EFF has named and shamed dozens of officials for their outrageous, ridiculous, and infuriating responses to records requests under open government laws such as the Freedom of Information Act. We give The Foilies for exorbitant fees, surreal redactions, or extremely long wait times. We highlight cases where reporters have been arrested or threatened with lawsuits for accessing documents. We even once gave a rock star an award after he attacked student journalists who used open records laws to obtain the guacamole recipe he included in his performance rider. In 2016, EFF began partnering with the Association of Alternative Newsmedia to publish The Foilies in alternative newsweeklies around the country. The Foilies Archive: The Foilies 2015 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 The Foilies 2016 The Self-Server Award - Hillary Clinton The "Old School" Award - Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis Worst Definition of Terrorism - State of Georgia Most Expensive FOIA Fee Estimate - Department of Defense Special Prize for Drunk Dialing for Public Records - New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez Ministry of Silly Talks Award - UK Independent Commission on Freedom of Information Head Trip Award - U.S. Army Surgeon General Copywrong Award - City of Inglewood Gitmo, Get Less Award - Department of Defense Correction Fluid Award - Willacy County Sheriff's Department Spellcheck Shmellcheck Award - Central Intelligence Agency Beastly Privacy Award - Oregon State Legislature Sue the Messenger Award - Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson The Culture of Secrecy Award Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services The Most “Helpful” Redactions Award - Office of the Director of National Intelligence Exhibit Inhibition Award - Department of Justice The Still-Interested Pat Down Award - Transportation Security Administration The Timey-Wimey Award - City of Wilmington The Foilies 2017 The Make America Opaque Again Award - President Donald Trump The Hypocrisy Award - Vice President Mike Pence The Frogmarch Award - Town of White Castle, Louisiana The Arts and Crafts Award Public Health Agency of Canada The Whoa There, Cowboy Award - Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke The Longhand Award - Portland Commissioner Amanda Fritz The Wrong Address Award - U.S. Department of Justice The Redaction of Interest Award - General Services Administration The Fake News Award - Santa Maria Police Department The Stupid Meter Award - Elster Solutions, Landis+Gyr, Ericsson The Least Productive Beta Testing Award - Federal Bureau of Investigation The Undermining Openness Award - U.S. Department of Justice The Outrageous Fee Award - Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services The Dehumanization Award - Lafayette City Marshall The Lethal Redaction Award - States of Texas and Arizona The Poor Note-taker Award - Secretary of the Massachusetts Commonwealth The Foilies 2018 The Mulligan Award - Pres. Donald J. Trump FOIA Fee of the Year - Texas Department of Criminal Justice Best Set Design in a Transparency Theater Production - Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed Special Achievement for Analog Conversion - Former Seattle Mayor Ed Murray The Winger Award for FOIA Feet Dragging - FBI The Prime Example Award – Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (Maine) El Premio del Desayuno Más Redactado - CIA The Courthouse Bully Award - Every Agency Suing a Requester The Lawless Agency Award - U.S. Customs and Border Protection The Franz Kafka Award for Most Secrets About Secretive Secrecy - CIA Special Recognition for Congressional Overreach - U.S. House of Representatives The Data Disappearance Award - Trump Administration The Danger in the Dark Award - The Army Corps of Engineers The Business Protection Agency Award - The Food and Drug Administration The Exhausted Mailman Award - Bureau of Indian Affairs Crime & Punishment Award - Martin County Commissioners (Florida) The Square Footage Award - Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (Florida) These Aren’t the Records You’re Looking For Award - San Diego City Councilmember Chris Cate The Foilies 2019 The Corporate Eclipse Award - Google, Amazon, and Facebook The Unnecessary Box Set Award - Central Intelligence Agency The (Harlem) Shaky Grounds for Redaction Award - Federal Communications Commission The Unreliable Narrator Award - President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. District Court Judges The Cross-Contamination Award - Stanford Law Professor Daniel Ho The Scanner Darkly Award - St. Joseph County Superior Court The Cash for Crash Award - Michigan State Police The Bartering with Extremists Award - California Highway Patrol The Preemptive Shredding Award - Inglewood Police Department The What the Swat? Award - Nova Scotia and Halifax Law Enforcement The Outrageous Fee Request of the Year - City of Seattle The Intern Art Project Award - Vermont Gov. Phil Scott The Least Transparent Employer Award - U.S. Department of Justice The Clawback Award - The Broward County School Board The Wrong Way to Plug a Leak Award - City of Greenfield, California If it Looks like a Duck Award - Brigham Young University Police The Insecure Security Check Award - U.S. Postal Service The Foilies 2020 The Twitter-Assist Award: President Donald Trump The Space Opera Award: New Mexico Spaceport Authority The Catalog Is Out of the Bag Award: Special Services Group The Smokescreen Award: Texas Elementary Schools The Uncontrolled Burn Award: Federal Aviation Administration The Queen of all FOIA Denials: Egyptian Museum of Berlin The Busiest Government Office Award: U.S. Department of Justice The Pointless Redaction Award: Mueller Report The Repeat Winner Award: Atlanta Mayor’s Office The Unnecessary Fee Award: Horry County, South Carolina The Surveillance for You, Privacy for Us Award: Ring Inc. The About Face on Face Recognition Award: Immigration and Customs Enforcement The Hardest Department to FOIA Award: Chicago Police Department The Choose-Your-Own Exemption Award: Immigration and Customs Enforcement The Anything Can Be Confidential Award: U.S. Supreme Court The Resigned to Secrecy Award: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown The Enemy of the Press Award: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra The Stupid, Dumb, F**king Idiot Award for Political Interference: U.S. Department of the Interior The Foilies 2021 The Most Secretive Dog's Bollocks - Conan the Belgian Malinois The Pharaoh Prize for Deadline Extensions - Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Illinois The Doxxer Prize - Forensic Examiner Colin Fagan The Redaction Most Likely to Make Your Bubbe Weep - Federal Aviation Administration The Government Retribution Award – City of Portland, Oregon The Most Expensive Cover-Up Award – Small Business Administration The Secret COVID Statistics Award – North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services The It’s So Secret, Even The Bullet Points Are Classified Award - Minnesota Fusion Center The Cat Face Filter Award - Federal Bureau of Prisons The Juking the FOIA Stats Award - Centers for Disease Control The Save the Children (in a Hidden Folder) Award - Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, Kentucky The Eric Cartman Respect My Authoritah Award - Haskell Indian Nations University, Kansas The Power of the Tweet Award - Pres. Donald J. Trump The 30 Days of Night Award - Hamilton County, Tennessee The Handcuffs and Prior Restraints Award: Chicago Police Department and City of Chicago, Illinois The Thin Crust, Wood-Fired Redactions Award - U.S. State Department The Self-Serving Secrecy Award - Niagara County, New York The Foilies 2022 The C.R.E.A.M. (Crap Redactions Everywhere Around Me) Award - U.S. Marshals The Operation Slug Speed Award - U.S. Food and Drug Administration These 10-day Deadlines Go To 11 Award - Assorted Massachusetts Agencies The Return to Sender Award - Virginia Del. Paul Krizek The Spying on Requestors Award - FBI The Futile Secrecy Award - Concord Police Department The Highest Fee Estimate Award - Pasco County Sheriff's Office The Rip Van Winkle Award - FBI The FOIA Gaslighter of the Year Award— Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry The Redacting Information That’s Already Public Award - Humboldt-area Law Enforcement The Clear Bully Award - Clearview AI Whose Car is it Anyway? Award - Waymo #WNTDWPREA (The What Not to Do With Public Records Ever Award) - Anchorage Police Department Do As I Say, Not As I Do Award - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton The Transparency Penalty Flag Award - Big 10 Conference The Remedial Education Award - Fairfax County Public Schools The Foilies 2023 (I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone to Transparency Award: Federal Bureau of Investigation The Redactions Don't Gitmo Surreal Award: The U.S. Southern Command We Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny the Existence of This Award: National Security Agency The Leave No Coffee Mug Unturned Award: General Escobedo, Mexico The Wishy-Washy Access Award: Alphabet and The Dalles, Oregon The Outrageous FOIA Fee of the Year Award: Rochester Community Schools District The Digital Divide Award: U.S. Office of Personnel Management The Bulk Data for Me but Not for Thee Award: Los Angeles Police Department I Wanted to Clarify That My A** is Covered Award: White House The Transparently Proud of Destroying Public Records Awards: Michael Gableman The Ancient Art of Dodging Accountability Award: Cyber Ninjas The Transparency Tax Award: Mendocino County The Burn After Reading Award: Immigration and Customs Enforcement The MisFIRE in All Directions Award: Irvington Township
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Graham Lampa
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