Chief Justice Roberts delivered today the 8-0 decision of the Supreme Court in the case Federal Communications Commission v. AT&T (Justice Kagan took no part in the case). The Court held unanimously that the protection in FOIA against disclosure of law enforcement information on the ground that it would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy does not extend to corporations. The text of the opinion is available here.
The Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to make records and documents publicly available upon request, subject to several statutory exemptions. Exemption 7(C) exempts “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes” that “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
AT&T participated in an FCC-administered program -the E-Rate (or Education-Rate) program- that was created to enhance access for schools and libraries to advanced telecommunications and information services. In August 2004, AT&T voluntarily reported to the FCC that it might have overcharged the Government for services it provided as part of the program. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau launched an investigation. As part of that investigation, AT&T provided the Bureau various documents. CompTel -“a trade association representing some of AT&T’s competitors”- submitted a FOIA request seeking “‘[a]ll pleadings and correspondence'” in the Bureau’s file on the AT&T investigation. The Bureau concluded that some of the information AT&T had provided should be protected from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 4, which relates to “trade secrets and commercial or financial information.” The Bureau also decided to withhold other information under FOIA Exemption 7(C). The FCC agreed with the Bureau, but the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit did not. The FCC petitioned the Supreme Court for review of the Third Circuit’s decision and the Supreme Court today reversed.
AT&T argued that the word “personal” in Exemption 7(C) incorporates the statutory definition of “person,” which includes corporations (the Administrative Procedure Act, §551(2), defines “person” to include “an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or public or private organization other than an agency.”) However, the Court explained that adjectives do not always reflect the meaning of corresponding nouns. “Person” is a defined term in the statute; “personal” is not. When a statute does not define a term, the Court typically “give[s] the phrase its ordinary meaning” and “personal” ordinarily refers to individuals. In fact, “personal” is often used to mean precisely the opposite of business-related. In the words of Chief Justice Roberts, “certainly, if the chief executive officer of a corporation approached the chief financial officer and said, ‘I have something personal to tell you,’ we would not assume the CEO was about to discuss company business.”
According to the Court, the meaning of “personal privacy” in Exemption 7(C) is further clarified by two pre-existing FOIA exemptions. Exemption 6, which Congress enacted eight years before Exemption 7(C), covers “personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” The Court has regularly referred to Exemption 6 as involving an “individual’s right of privacy.” In contrast, FOIA Exemption 4, which protects -as already noted- “trade secrets” clearly applies to corporations. So, writes the Chief Justice, at the time Congress enacted Exemption 7(C), it had in place an exemption that plainly covered a corporation’s commercial and financial information, and another that we have described as relating to “individuals.” The language of Exemption 7(C) tracks the latter.
According to a piece that appeared in today’s Washington Post (available here), “the outcome was notable for its unanimity, especially in view of recent criticism from liberal interest groups that the court tilts too far in favor of business.”
As Chief Justice Roberts concluded, “[w]e trust that AT&T will not take it personally.”