FOIA b(3) Exemptions

Securities and Exchange Commission FOIA Exemptions

0.7
Use Rate 		13.0
Total claims 		1,983
Denials

Securities and Exchange Commission Annual Reports: '08 |
The Securities and Exchange Commission used b(3) exemptions to withhold information from FOIA requesters 1,983 times in 2008-2009.

Category

  • All
  • Commerce and Trade
  • Public Contracts
Statute Description Claims
41 USC 253b(m) Proposals submitted by unsuccessful contract bidders 5.0
15 USC 80a-30(c) Investment Company Examination 3.0
15 USC 80b-10(b) Investment Advisors examinations or investigations 3.0
15 USC 78q(h)(5) Associated persons of broker-dealers, government securities brokers or dealers, or municipal securities dealers. 2.0

About This Project

This project uses data compiled by the Sunshine in Government initiative, a coalition of journalism and transparency groups. SGI compiled data from federal agency annual FOIA reports to track how often b(3) exemptions were used. SGI also standardized the exemptions since some agencies used slightly different citations of the same laws. In some cases, agencies listed general laws without specifying a section under which information was withheld. This project does not include information from agencies that use no b(3) exemptions in 2008 or 2009. ProPublica compiled information about FOIA denials.

FOIA Resources