§ 1662.2 - Definitions.

§ 1662.2 Procedure for requesting information.

Requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shall be in writing and should be addressed to the Director, Selective Service System, ATTN: Records Manager, Washington, DC 20435.

Definitions.

As used in this part:

Agency means the Selective Service System. Agency may also refer to any executive department, military department, government corporation, government-controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Federal Government, or any independent regulatory agency. A private organization is not an agency even if it is performing work under contract with the Government or is receiving Federal financial assistance.

Chief FOIA Officer means a senior official of SSS who has an Agency-wide responsibility for ensuring efficient and appropriate compliance with the FOIA, monitoring implementation of the FOIA throughout SSS, and making recommendations to the Director of Selective Service to improve SSS's implementation of the FOIA. The Director of Selective Service designates a Chief FOIA Officer for the Agency. The Director of Selective Service makes final decisions in response to appeals of the Chief FOIA Officer's determinations.

Commercial interest includes interests relating to business, trade, and profit, as well as non-profit corporations, individuals, unions, and other associations. The interest of a representative of the news media in using the information for news dissemination purposes will not be considered a commercial interest.

Component consists of the Office of the Director, National Headquarters Directorates and Offices, Data Management Center, Region Offices, and all other organizational entities within SSS that may maintain Agency records subject to a request under the FOIA.

Duplication means the process of reproducing a copy of a record, or of the information contained in it, to the extent necessary to respond to a request. Copies include paper, electronic records, audiovisual materials, and other formats of Agency records.

Educational institution means a preschool, elementary or secondary school, institution of undergraduate or graduate higher education, or institution of professional or vocational education, which operates a program of scholarly research. To qualify for this category, a requester must show that the FOIA request is authorized by, and is made under the auspices of, a qualifying institution and that the records are sought to further a scholarly research goal of the institution, and not for a commercial use or purpose, or for individual use or benefit.

Exemption means one of the nine exemptions to the mandatory disclosure of records permitted under section 552(b) of the FOIA.

Expedited processing means the process set forth in the FOIA that allows requesters to request faster processing of their FOIA request if they meet specific criteria noted in § 1662.12.

Fee category means one of the three categories established by the FOIA to determine whether a requester will be charged fees under FOIA for search, review, and duplication. The categories are: commercial use requests; non-commercial scientific or educational institutions and news media requests; and all other requests.

Fee waiver means the waiver or reduction of fees if a requester meets the requirements set forth in § 1662.13.

FOIA Officer means an SSS official whom the Director of Selective Service has delegated the authority to assist the Chief FOIA Officer in releasing or withholding records; assessing, waiving, or reducing fees in response to FOIA requests; and all other determinations regarding the processing of a FOIA request. In this capacity, the FOIA Officer is authorized to request and receive responsive records that may be maintained by other Agency components. Except for records subject to proactive disclosure pursuant to section (a)(2) of the FOIA, only the Chief FOIA Officer has the authority to release or withhold records or to waive fees in response to a FOIA request.

FOIA Public Liaison means an Agency official who reports to the Agency Chief FOIA Officer and serves as a supervisory official to whom a requester can raise concerns about the service the requester received concerning the processing of the FOIA request. This individual is responsible for increasing transparency in the Agency's FOIA business process, helping requesters understand the status of requests, and assisting in the resolution of disputes. The FOIA Public Liaison may be contacted via email at [e-mail].

FOIA request means a written request that meets the criteria in § 1662.6.

Freedom of Information Act or FOIA means the law codified at 5 U.S.C. 552 that provides the public with the right to request Agency records from Federal executive branch agencies.

News means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. Examples of news media entities include television or radio stations that broadcast news to the public at large and publishers of periodicals, including print and online publications that disseminate news and make their products available through a variety of means to the public. SSS does not consider FOIA requests for records that support the news dissemination function of the requester to be commercial use. SSS considers “freelance” journalists who demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through a news media entity as working for that entity. A publishing contract provides the clearest evidence that a journalist expects publication; however, SSS also considers a requester's past publication record.

Non-commercial scientific institution means an institution that does not further the commercial, trade, or profit interests of any person or entity and is operated for the purpose of conducting scientific research whose results are not intended to promote any particular product or industry.

Online FOIA portal means the electronic application that SSS uses to process FOIA requests. The public may also submit requests directly to SSS via the online FOIA.gov—Freedom of Information Act.

Other requester means any individual or organization whose FOIA request does not qualify as a commercial-use request, representative of the news media request (including a request made by a freelance journalist), or an educational or non-commercial scientific institution request.

Production means the process of preparing the records for duplication, including the time spent in preparing the records for duplication (i.e., materials used, records/database retrieval, employee, and contractor time, as well as systems processing time).

Reading room means an electronic location(s) that SSS uses to post records that are made available to the public without a specific request. SSS makes reading room records electronically available to the public through the SSS website, https://www.sss.gov/, including at https://www.sss.gov/foia/.

Record(s) means any information maintained by an Agency, regardless of format, that is made or received in connection with official Agency business that is under the Agency's control at the time of the FOIA request. Record(s) includes any information maintained for an Agency by a third party. Record(s) does not include personal records of an employee, or other information in formally organized and officially designated SSS libraries and reading rooms, where such materials are available under the rules of the particular library.

Redact means delete or mark over.

Representative of the news media means any person or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience.

Request means asking for records, whether or not the requester refers specifically to the FOIA. Requests from federal agencies, subpoenas, and court orders for documents are not included within this definition.

Review, unless otherwise specifically defined in this part, means examining records responsive to a request to determine whether any portions are exempt from disclosure. Review time includes processing a record for disclosure (i.e., doing all that is necessary to prepare the record for disclosure), including redacting the record and marking the appropriate FOIA exemptions. It does not include the process of resolving general legal or policy issues regarding exemptions.

Search means the process of identifying, locating, and retrieving records responsive to a request, whether in hard copy or in electronic form or format, or by manual or automated/electronic means.

Special services mean performing additional services outside of those required under the FOIA to respond to a request. Examples include using an overnight mail service to send the Agency's response to a FOIA request.

SSS means the Selective Service System.

Submitter means any person or entity that provides trade secrets or commercial or financial information to the Agency, and includes individuals, corporations, other organizational entities, and state and foreign governments.

Tolling means temporarily stopping the running of a time limit. SSS may toll a FOIA request to seek clarification from the requester or to address fee issues, as further described in § 1662.11.

Trade secrets and commercial or financial information means trade secrets and commercial or financial information that are confidential, and are obtained by the Agency from a submitter, such that it may be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4).