FCC Slapped for Disclosing Private AT&T Documents
A federal appeals court said the FCC misread the Freedom of Information Act when it disclosed confidential AT&T information to CompTel. In a decision Tuesday written by Judge Michael Chagares, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia kicked back to the FCC an order denying an AT&T petition to review. The court said corporations like AT&T have personal privacy rights and in some cases are protected from mandatory disclosure under FOIA.
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FOIA requires federal agencies to disclose documents in their possession, but Exemption 7(C) discounts information that “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” The FCC said it could disclose AT&T information because corporations lack “personal privacy.” But the court ruled that “FOIA’s text unambiguously indicates that a corporation may have a ‘personal privacy’ interest.” In the law, Congress didn’t define “personal,” but it defined “person” to include “an individual, partnership, corporation, association, or public or private organization other than an agency,” the court said.
“This, for us, ends the matter,” the court said. “We need not consider the parties’ arguments concerning statutory purpose, relevant (but non-binding) case law, and legislative history.” The 3rd Circuit didn’t rule on whether the FCC’s disclosure was “unwarranted” under FOIA law, because the FCC didn’t rule on the issue. The court directed the FCC to determine the matter in the remand process.
Neither the Supreme Court nor the 3rd Circuit “has ever squarely rejected a proffered personal privacy interest of a corporation,” the court noted. “The most that can be said” of case law is that the exemptions “frequently and primarily protect -- and that Congress may have intended them to protect -- the privacy of individuals.”
The FCC, AT&T and CompTel didn’t immediately return calls requesting comment.