Opinion ID: 3192861
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Disclosure Under FOIA

Text: “Disclosure, not secrecy, is the dominant objective of FOIA.” Shannahan v. IRS, 672 F.3d 1142, 1148 (9th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted). “We construe narrowly FOIA’s nine exemptions.” Id. The FDA relies on Exemption 4, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4), “which is available to prevent disclosure of (1) commercial and financial information, (2) obtained from a person or by the government, (3) that is privileged or confidential.”1 GC Micro Corp. v. Def. Logistics Agency, 33 F.3d 1109, 1112 (9th Cir. 1994). Commercial information qualifies as “confidential” when disclosure is “likely . . . to cause 1 Title 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4) specifically provides: This section [requiring disclosure of information] does not apply to matters that are— .... (4) trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential[.] 8 ALDF V. FDA substantial harm to the competitive position of the person from whom the information was obtained.” Id. 1112–13 (citing Nat’l Parks & Conservation Ass’n v. Morton, 498 F.2d 765, 770 (D.C. Cir. 1974)).