[reposted from my LinkedIn account]
At the close of an otherwise unobjectionable and unsurprising refusal of a Freedom of Information Act 2000 appeal (on the issue of a vexatious request), the Information Tribunal judge says this:
“FOIA exists to safeguard freedom of information. It was not enacted to serve as a tool for furthering personal campaigns and causes, however heartfelt they may be.”
When Parliament enacted FOIA it expressly declined to insert a “purpose clause”. As its explanatory notes say “A request for information can be made by any individual or body, regardless of the purpose of the application.” So if someone wants to use FOIA as a tool for furthering personal campaigns and causes, then (as long as their requests are not, as they were here, vexatious) they jolly well can. And judges should respect this.
The views in this post (and indeed most posts on this blog) are my personal ones, and do not represent the views of any organisation I am involved with.
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