Public Comments Submitted by Nicole M. Rementer on September 9, 2021 - Comment for September 9, 2021 FOIA Advisory Committee Meeting

from: Nicole M. Rementer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
to: FOIA Advisory Committee 
date: Sep 9, 2021, 12:21 PM
subject: Comment for September 9, 2021 FOIA Advisory Committee Meeting

Re: Issue of Metadata—This is a critical issue that does need to be addressed by the FOIA.  I think the Technology Committee should recommend a pilot program for agencies to volunteer to participate in.  By designing a pilot program, the scope of records that will be released with accompanying metadata can be narrowed, so national security and law enforcement concerns do not become so noisy as to keep the issue from being meaningfully explored. 

Principles set forth in eDiscovery, particularly in civil litigation, have tackled the metadata issue over the last decade (and longer).  We should be looking to those eDiscovery principles to inform FOIA processing best practices, as discovery is truly complementary to the many of the underlying principles of FOIA. 

Nicole M. Rementer 
Attorney-Adviser, National FOIA Office 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Office of General Counsel 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (MC 2310A) 
Washington, D.C. 20460 | WJCN 7426NN