from the one-agency's-pocket-change-is-another-entity's-small-fortune dept.
TechDirt reports
The [Electronic Freedom Frontier] recently kicked off a contest for the "most outrageous response to a Freedom of Information Act request" and we already have a frontrunner for the first inaugural "Foilie." MuckRock's loose confederation of FOIA rabblerousers has been hit with a $1.4 million price tag for John Dyer's request for documents related to the "localization and capture" of Mexican drug lord "El Chapo" (or Joaquin Guzman, as he was presumably known to his mom).
The price tag for the requested documents is almost absurdly high. Almost. There are some mitigating factors that might keep this request from snagging the coveted "Foilie." For one, there's a whole lot of responsive documents.
In fairness, the request is quite broad in scope, and the estimated 13,051 case files would create considerable workload.
But on the other hand, the estimate seems to have been pulled out of thin air, rather than based on any actual calculations.
But assuming that $200,000 of that fee came from photocopying (which would put the total number of pages at two million), that would put the time estimate at over 40,000 hours, or 1785 days. That's almost five years of constant work without breaks.
My guess: A ton of magic markers to redact all of DEA's criminal activity.
Related Stories
Multiple publishers are reporting that Micky Dolenz, the last surviving member of the made-for-tv band, The Monkees, is suing the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act. He aims to get as much of the FBI's file on The Monkees as possible with the goal of uncovering what they may have on higher priority surveillance targets of the era, such as John Lennon or the MC5. According to a limited file release from 2011, The Monkees are only mentioned in two FBI documents, one of which remains fully redacted.
The Monkees may not be seem like the kind of band that would attract the FBI's attention, especially during a time when groups like Country Joe and the Fish and the MC5 were leading the movement against the Vietnam War. But the Monkees were one of the most popular bands in America in 1966 and 1967, and they sprinkled anti-war sentiments into songs like "Ditty Diego-War Chant" and even "Last Train to Clarksville," a song about a man headed off to war that fears he'll never see his love again.
"The Monkees reflected, especially in their later years with projects like [their 1968 art house movie] Head, a counterculture from what institutional authority was at the time," Zaid tells Rolling Stone. "And [J. Edgar] Hoover's FBI, in the Sixties in particular, was infamous for monitoring the counterculture, whether they committed unlawful actions or not."
-- https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-monkees-micky-dolenz-fbi-1234584299/
In the intervening decades, making and distributing music has become highly centralized and corporate.
Covered at:
BBC: Micky Dolenz: Last living Monkees member sues FBI for secret files on band
Bloomberg: Last of the Monkees Wants Their FBI Records Turned Over
The Los Angeles Times: The FBI had a file on the Monkees, and now Micky Dolenz is suing to find out why
TMZ: Micky Dolenz Demanding FBI File on The Monkees!!! (Yes, There Actually Is One)
Rolling Stone: The Monkees' Micky Dolenz Would Like a Word With the FBI
NBC: Surviving Monkees member Micky Dolenz sues the FBI, asks for files on him and his bandmates
Previously:
(2019) The FBI "Can Neither Confirm Nor Deny" That It Monitors Your Social Media Posts
(2019) U.S. Government Using Secretive FISA Rules to Spy on Journalists
(2017) EFF Sues FBI to Obtain Records About Geek Squad/Best Buy Surveillance
(2016) Snowden Tried to Tell NSA About Surveillance Concerns, Documents Reveal
(2014) Already a Winner in EFF's "Most Outrageous Response to a FOIA Request" Contest?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by mmcmonster on Wednesday February 11 2015, @11:23AM
The snarky last line about getting a magic marker and redacting it is correct.
Quite possibly someone with Classified clearance has to go through every single page and determine what needs to be redacted. Most likely many items will have to go through a chain of command to determine whether it's safe to release.
Given that, $1.4M isn't too out-of-the-realm.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by SpockLogic on Wednesday February 11 2015, @02:45PM
The snarky last line about getting a magic marker and redacting it is correct.
Quite possibly someone with Classified clearance has to go through every single page and determine what needs to be redacted. Most likely many items will have to go through a chain of command to determine whether it's safe to release.
Given that, $1.4M isn't too out-of-the-realm.
You forgot the cost of astroturfing by DEA shills. Does it pay well?
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Wednesday February 11 2015, @04:03PM
Believing, without any evidence whatsoever, that anyone who presents a reasonable argument for why the DEA fee isn't outrageous is a shill, is highly illogical, Mr SpockLogic.
"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Score: 2) by darkfeline on Wednesday February 11 2015, @06:29PM
I don't think you would need to go through the chain of command to sharpie out every word.
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 5, Informative) by WizardFusion on Wednesday February 11 2015, @12:01PM
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/01/got-outrageous-public-records-story-send-your-nominations-foilies [eff.org]
(Score: 2) by CirclesInSand on Wednesday February 11 2015, @07:22PM
Wouldn't it be great if this contest caught the eye of some prosecutors?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Jiro on Wednesday February 11 2015, @09:47PM
With 13051 case files, a cost of $1.4 million is around $100 per case file. If it costs a lawyer $200 for an hour of work (note that that's $200 expenses including overhead, not $200 salary), that means a half hour of work per file. This is very reasonable. Bump that down to $100 and it's an hour per file.