NSA FOIA requests explode in months since Snowden leaks began


By SB Anderson

Freedom of Information Act requests filed with the National Security Agency have boomed since Edward Snowden began leaking top-secret documents in June.

An internal document released last week to MuckRock showed 3,382 FOIA requests between June 6 and Sept, 14 of this year — nearly 12 times the 293 filed in that same period a year ago.

The requests have leveled off somewhat from earlier in the summer when the first media leaks appeared, although they continue to be much higher than normal. For perspective, for all of FY12 we received only 1809 requests,” the NSA said in its memo.

Change in NSA FOIA Requests