Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests received by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now need to be filed electronically, according to a new rule from the department.
DHS will no longer accept FOIA and Privacy Act requests via mail starting Jan. 22, according to a recent DHS posting on the Federal Register.
The department said the change is being made to reduce processing time for filling requests and interacting with requesters.
DHS said that “electronic submission via web portal is also more efficient than using the U.S. Postal Service,” and it expects no additional costs to be incurred as a result of the new rule.
“In addition, this change will allow the Department to respond to requesters quickly and efficiently to correct any mistakes made in submitting their requests or clarifying their requests,” DHS said.
Limited exceptions are available upon request for people who lack internet access, the department noted.
The announcement follows federal agencies’ recent move toward digitization. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) said in August that 71% of federal agencies manage their records in an electronic format, per a directive from the agency and the Office of Management and Budget that required agencies to store all their permanent and temporary records digitally.
Beyond changes to FOIA submission procedures at DHS, a broader shift is also underway in how agencies handle public records requests, with emerging technologies playing a growing role in how those requests are processed and fulfilled.
In the fall, NARA said that nearly one in five federal agencies use artificial intelligence (AI) to process FOIA requests. While the majority of agencies still aren’t using AI to help with those processes, NARA officials said that early adopters are demonstrating the ability of AI to sufficiently fulfill requests while identifying sensitive information.