Case Detail
Case Title | ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER v. NATIONAL SECURITY COMMISSION ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE et al | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
District | District of Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
City | Washington, DC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Case Number | 1:2019cv02906 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date Filed | 2019-09-27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date Closed | 2021-07-07 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Judge | Judge Trevor N. McFadden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Plaintiff | ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Case Description | The Electronic Privacy Information Center submitted a FOIA request to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence for records prepared for or used by the Commission during its meetings. EPIC also requested expedited processing. The Commission acknowledged receipt of the request but after hearing nothing further from the Commission, EPIC filed suit. Complaint issues: Failure to respond within statutory time limit, Adequacy - Search, Litigation - Attorney's fees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defendant | NATIONAL SECURITY COMMISSION ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defendant | ERIC SCHMIDT in his official capacity as Chairman of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defendant | YLLI BAJRAKTARI in his official capacity as Executive Director of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Defendant | UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Documents | Docket Complaint Complaint attachment 1 Complaint attachment 2 Complaint attachment 3 Complaint attachment 4 Complaint attachment 5 Complaint attachment 6 Opinion/Order [26] FOIA Project Annotation: In finding that the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence is an agency subject to FOIA, Judge Trevor McFadden has drawn some distinctions between entities that are part of the Executive Office of the President, which are frequently not subject to FOIA because their primary function is to advise the President, and entities that are further removed from the presidential orbit because they are located in an executive department, such as the Defense Department. The Commission was established as part of the 2019 Defense Authorization Act "to review advances in artificial intelligence, related machine learning developments, and associated technologies." The Commission consisted of 15 members. The Secretary of Defense appointed two members, while the Secretary of Commerce appointed one. The chair or ranking member of six congressional committees appointed the others. The Commission was required to submit three reports to the President and Congress.An initial report was due within 180 days of its creation, and an interim report was due in August 2019. Both reports were submitted late. In February, the Electronic Privacy Information Center submitted a FOIA request to DOD for records concerning the Commission. By that time, the Commission had held 13 meetings and had received more than 100 briefings. EPIC asked for expedited processing which was denied. In September 2019, EPIC submitted requests under FOIA as well as the Federal Advisory Committee Act directly to the Commission. After EPIC filed suit against DOD, McFadden held a hearing at which it became evident that the Commission was more likely to have the records EPIC sought than was DOD itself. The government argued that the Commission was not an agency subject to FOIA. McFadden pointed out that in the authorizing statute, the Commission "shall be considered an independent establishment of the Federal Government as defined by section 104 of title 5." McFadden indicated that "Section 104 of title 5, meanwhile, explains 'for purposes of this title, "independent establishment 'means. . .an establishment in the executive branch. . .which not an Executive department, military department, Government corporation, part thereof, or part of an independent establishment.' Congress could have hardly been clearer. Having said that FOIA applies to 'any. . .establishment in the executive branch,' it chose to call the Commission an 'establishment in the executive branch.'" McFadden cited Energy Research Foundation v. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, 917 F.2d 581 (D.C. Cir. 1990), as a prior D.C. Circuit decision that had reached an identical conclusion �" that an entity housed in the Defense Department was intended to be a separate agency under FOIA. McFadden pointed out that the D.C. Circuit "looked at the whole of the Board's statute and found 'nothing to indicate that Congress intended to excuse the Board from complying with FOIA.' The same is true here." In response, McFadden noted, "the Government urges that 5 U.S.C. § 552(f)(1) does not mean what it says. By its terms, § 552(f)(1) declares that 'any. . .establishment in the executive branch' is subject to FOIA. But the Government says not so. The Government contends that, the caselaw requires a non-literal reading," pointing to Soucie v. David, 448 F.2d 1067 (D.C. Cir. 1971), which established the sole function test for agencies whose only role was to advice the President. But McFadden observed that "the relevance of Soucie's functional analysis is not immediately apparent. The decision came before the enactment of § 552(f)(1). It thus dealt with the general phrase 'authority of the Government,' not the more specific phrase 'establishment in the executive branch.'" The government urged McFadden to consider the context in which the legislative history of the 1974 amendment showed congressional approval of Soucie for purposes of determining when an agency within the EOP was subject to FOIA, which was accepted by the Supreme Court in Kissinger v. Reporters Committee, 445 U.S. 136 (1980). To this argument, McFadden responded that "whatever misgivings the Court may have about using legislative history, the Court is bound by the higher courts' repeated reliance on the conference report the Government identifies. The D.C. Circuit has cited that report to hold that not all entities in the White House are subject to FOIA, despite the plain terms of § 552(f)(1). So this would be a much different case if the Commission were in the White House. But it is not." However, McFadden observed, the government drew a larger principle from Soucie. "According to the Government," McFadden noted, "whenever it would raise separation of powers concerns to say that an entity is subject to FOIA, the text of § 552(f)(1) must give way. The canon of constitutional avoidance would kick in, and a court would have to apply Soucie's functional test to determine whether the entity must comply with FOIA." He added that "the Government reasons that under Soucie's functional test, the Commission does not exercise 'substantial independent authority,' and is thus exempt from FOIA." Rejecting the governments arguments, McFadden pointed out that "the Government reads far too much in the Soucie line of cases. These cases do not hold that the functional test applies whenever imposing FOIA on an entity would raise separation of powers concerns. They stand for the much narrower proposition that a functional approach is apt when the question is whether an official or entity close to the President must comply with FOIA." He added that "the cases that rely on this legislative history apply a functional analysis given a specific separation of powers concern. That specific concern is not at issue here. This case does not involve presidential staff or an entity in the White House. Indeed, the Government stresses that the Commission is far removed from the President." The government argued that Dong v. Smithsonian Institution, 125 F. 3d 866 (D.C. Cir. 1997), in which the D.C. Circuit found that the Smithsonian Institution was not subject to FOIA because it was not an establishment in the executive branch, supported its position here. But McFadden noted that "Dong simply did not make the step that the Government insists it made. The court did not apply a functional test because of separation of powers concerns. It applied a functional test because the Smithsonian was neither an 'establishment in the executive branch' nor a 'Government controlled corporation.'" McFadden explained that "Congress chose to call the Commission an 'establishment in the executive branch.' The Government has not convinced the Court that it should ignore what Congress said. And even under the Government's preferred functional approach, the Commission is still subject to FOIA. The Court thus concludes that the Commission must comply with FOIA." Having made this conclusion, McFadden indicated that there were unresolved issues pertaining to EPIC's requests that would need to be addressed now that the Commission was required to comply with its requests.
Opinion/Order [40]Issues: Agency - Federal FOIA Project Annotation: After his 2019 decision finding that the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence was subject to FOIA, Judge Trevor McFadden has ruled that the Commission is also subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. In so ruling, McFadden rejected the government's argument that an entity could not be subject to both but was either an agency for purposes of FOIA or an advisory committee for purposes of FACA. While FACA, passed by Congress in 1972, was meant to bring access rights to federal advisory committees that were created to provide advice to agencies on various subjects, and thus played an important role in agency policy-making, but were not subject to FOIA because they were not agencies. Nevertheless, FACA and FOIA have a number of similarities. Although FACA establishes a notification process for advisory committee meetings, as well as access rights to records prepared as part of that process, it also provides rights of access to advisory committee records after an advisory committee's records has been created and even after the work of an advisory committee has been concluded. FACA's records exemptions track those of FOIA, although they do not include the privileges encompassed in Exemption 5 (privileges). McFadden admitted that part of the reason he concluded that the AI Commission was subject to FACA was that his ruling on its agency status was based on a literal reading of the definition of agency in FOIA itself. In the original FOIA, Congress indicated that an agency for purposes of FOIA had the same definition as did § 701(b)(1) of the Administrative Procedure Act, which defines agency as "each authority of the Government." But in 1974, Congress expanded that definition to include "any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of government (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory agency." Addressing these crucial differences, McFadden explained that his prior opinion "did not hold that the Commission was an 'agency' under § 701(b)(1). It held only that the Commission is an 'agency' for purposes of FOIA [§ 552(f)(1)]." McFadden noted that "the upshot is that if an entity fits one of the categories in § 552(f)(1) â€" such as 'establishment in the executive branch' â€" it will not necessarily qualify as an 'authority of the Government' under § 551(1) or § 701(b)(1). Congress thus allowed for something to be an 'agency' under § 552(f)(1) but not an 'agency' under § 551(1) or § 701(b)(1). In other words, because of the 1974 amendments, all APA agencies are FOIA agencies, but not vice-versa." McFadden spent much of his opinion disabusing the government of its claim that the AI Commission was an agency for purposes of the APA. Instead, he pointed out that "the Commission does not exercise 'substantial independent authority.' The upshot is that the Commission is an 'agency' under § 552(f)(1) but not an 'agency' under § 551(1) or § 701(f)(1), exactly the sort of entity Congress intended to capture when it expanded FOIA's definition of 'agency' in 1974." He then turned to the issue of whether the AI Commission was subject to FACA. He concluded that it was, noting that "the language that Congress used to create the Commission matches FACA's definition of 'advisory committee.' And Congress twice declined to excuse the Commission from FACA, even though both laws carved out FACA exemptions for other entities. The Court thus concludes that the Commission is an 'advisory committee' subject to FACA." McFadden rejected the government's claims that there were irreconcilable differences between FOIA and FACA which meant they could not co-exist. He also agreed with the plaintiff EPIC that the staff available to the AI Commission were more like intermittent employees than like full-time or part-time employees; an advisory committee is not subject to FACA if it is made up entirely of federal employees.
Issues: Agency - Federal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
User-contributed Documents | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Docket Events (Hide) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|