Fergie's Tech Blog

U.S. Government Justifications Ruled Inadequate in '.xxx' TLD FOIA Case

Scott Hodes writes on the FOIA Blog:

Plaintiff ICM Registry, LLC has repelled the government's effort to get summary judgment on most of its processing of documents in relation to plaintiff's request concerning government actions concerning the .XXX internet domain.

Plaintiff had sought to create and maintain the .xxx internet domain for various adult entertainment industry. The Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN") however turned down plaintiff's request--reportedly with pressure from the U.S. Government. The subsequent FOIA requests turned into litigation. The government (State and Commerce Departments) withheld a number of documents from plaintiff pursuant to Exemptions 4 and 5 (deliberative process privilege).

After a round of briefing, Judge James Robertson of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia found that the government's justifications for many of its withholdings were conclusory and did not establish that the exemptions were properly used in many instances. Judge Robertson has ordered the government to submit additional Vaughn indexes that specifically justify these withholdings.

posted by Fergie @ 4/04/2007 11:22:00 AM