Sunshine Week: People are requesting more government records. Why are they getting less?

By ANNA MASSOGLIA, March 15, 2026

More Americans are filing Freedom of Information Act requests than ever, topping 1.5 million in 2024 and on track for another record in 2025. This will mark the third consecutive year that FOIA requests have reached seven figures. But more requests do not necessarily equal more access to public government information. 

As the volume of records requests has swelled, so has the portion of those requests that are rejected or otherwise incomplete.  The likelihood of a requester receiving everything they asked for is lower than ever. 

Governments can only be held accountable when we know what’s happening inside of them. That’s what freedom of information laws were built to prevent and right now, they’re losing ground.  

Together, we can hold power to account and shine a light on government transparency.