March 3, 2011
U.S. Supreme Court Ruled That Corporations Do Not Have Personal Privacy Rights |
Black Counselor News
On March 1, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court published its opinion in the case FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ET AL. v. AT&T INC. ET AL.
According to the Courts opinion, the case arose out of CompTel's, a trade association, FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) request for documents AT&T had provided to the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau during an investigation of that company. AT&T objectied to the disclosure of its records disclosed during the investigation, claiming that it is "a ‘private corporate citizen’ with personal privacy rights that should be protected from disclosure that would ‘embarrass’ it . . . within the meaning of Exemption 7(C) of FOIA.
The Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to make records and documents publicly available upon request, subject to several statutory exemptions. One of those exemptions, Exemption 7(C), covers law enforcement records the disclosure of which “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of per-sonal privacy.” 5 U. S. C. §552(b)(7)(C).
Although the FCC Enforcement Bureau concluded, after a review of AT&T 's formal written objection, that some of the information AT&T had provided (including cost and pricing data,billing-related information, and identifying information about staff, contractors, and customer representatives) should be protected from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 4, which relates to “trade secrets and commercial or financial information,” 5 U. S. C. §552(b)(4), the Bureau ultimately concluded that that “businesses do not possess ‘personal privacy’ interests as required” by exemption 7(C).
AT&T sought judicial review and the Third Circuit rejected the FCC's interpretation of FOIA Exemption 7(C), stating "that Congress had defined the word “person” toinclude corporations as well as individuals, 5 U. S. C. §551(2), the court held that Exemption 7(C) extends to the “personal privacy” of corporations, since “the root from which the statutory word [personal] . . . is derived” is the defined term “person.” 582 F. 3d, at 497.
The FCC sought further review by the U.S. Supreme Court, which published its opnion this March 1, 2001. Approximately nine friend of the court briefs where filed by various legal trade organizations and public interest groups for and against each party to the case.
The Supreme Court reversed the Third's Circuit's decision stating:
The Court further noted that "Dictionaries also suggest that “personal” does not ordinarily relate to artificial “persons” such as corporations." Essentially, the Court's ruling turned on dictionary meanings when it utilmately rejected AT&T's argument that because “person” is defined for purposes of FOIA to include a corporation, the phrase“personal privacy” in Exemption 7(C) reaches corporations as well. The Court concluded that:
According to the Courts opinion, the case arose out of CompTel's, a trade association, FOIA (Freedom Of Information Act) request for documents AT&T had provided to the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau during an investigation of that company. AT&T objectied to the disclosure of its records disclosed during the investigation, claiming that it is "a ‘private corporate citizen’ with personal privacy rights that should be protected from disclosure that would ‘embarrass’ it . . . within the meaning of Exemption 7(C) of FOIA.
The Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to make records and documents publicly available upon request, subject to several statutory exemptions. One of those exemptions, Exemption 7(C), covers law enforcement records the disclosure of which “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of per-sonal privacy.” 5 U. S. C. §552(b)(7)(C).
Although the FCC Enforcement Bureau concluded, after a review of AT&T 's formal written objection, that some of the information AT&T had provided (including cost and pricing data,billing-related information, and identifying information about staff, contractors, and customer representatives) should be protected from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 4, which relates to “trade secrets and commercial or financial information,” 5 U. S. C. §552(b)(4), the Bureau ultimately concluded that that “businesses do not possess ‘personal privacy’ interests as required” by exemption 7(C).
AT&T sought judicial review and the Third Circuit rejected the FCC's interpretation of FOIA Exemption 7(C), stating "that Congress had defined the word “person” toinclude corporations as well as individuals, 5 U. S. C. §551(2), the court held that Exemption 7(C) extends to the “personal privacy” of corporations, since “the root from which the statutory word [personal] . . . is derived” is the defined term “person.” 582 F. 3d, at 497.
The FCC sought further review by the U.S. Supreme Court, which published its opnion this March 1, 2001. Approximately nine friend of the court briefs where filed by various legal trade organizations and public interest groups for and against each party to the case.
The Supreme Court reversed the Third's Circuit's decision stating:
“Person” is a defined term in the statute; “personal” is not. When a statute does not define a term, we typically“give the phrase its ordinary meaning.” Johnson v. United States, 559 U. S. ___, ___ (2010) (slip op., at 4). “Personal” ordinarily refers to individuals. We do not usually speak of personal characteristics, personal effects, personal correspondence, personal influence, or personal tragedy asreferring to corporations or other artificial entities. This is not to say that corporations do not have correspondence, influence, or tragedies of their own, only that we do not use the word “personal” to describe them.
The Court further noted that "Dictionaries also suggest that “personal” does not ordinarily relate to artificial “persons” such as corporations." Essentially, the Court's ruling turned on dictionary meanings when it utilmately rejected AT&T's argument that because “person” is defined for purposes of FOIA to include a corporation, the phrase“personal privacy” in Exemption 7(C) reaches corporations as well. The Court concluded 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.
Friend of the Court Briefs Filed In The Case
- Brief for the Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press — ALM Media, LLC, the American Society of News Editors, the Associated Press, the Association of American Publishers, Inc., Bay Area News Group, Bloomberg L.P., the Citizen Media Law Project, Daily News, L.P., Dow Jones & Company, Inc., The E.W. Scripps Company, the First Amendment Coalition, First Amendment Project, Gannett Co., Inc., NBC Universal, Inc., the National Press Photographers Association, Newspaper Association of America, the New York Times Co., NPR, Inc., the Society of Professional Journalists, Stephens Media LLC, Tribune Company, and the Washington Post in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for Collaboration on Government Secrecy in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for Free Press in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for the Project on Government Oversight, the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, and Tax Analysts in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for National Association of Manufacturers in Support of Respondent AT&T, Inc.
- Brief for the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America in Support of Respondent AT&T, Inc.
- Brief for the Business Roundtable in Support of Respondent AT&T, Inc.
- Brief for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics In Washington, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the National Security Archive, and Openthegovernment.Org in Support of Petitioner
- Brief for Constitutional Accountability Center in Support of Petitioner
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