DDoSecrets (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

Emma North-Best filed this request with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of the United States of America.
Tracking #

2024-01300

Multi Request DDoSecrets
Due June 17, 2024
Est. Completion None
Status
Awaiting Response

Communications

From: Emma North-Best

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Records mentioning, describing or relating to Distributed Denial of Secrets, abbreviated DDoSecrets.

DDoSecrets is a non-profit whistleblower site founded in 2018 for news leaks which is sometimes referred to as a successor to WikiLeaks and came to international attention for its June 2020 publication of police documents, known as BlueLeaks.

You may limit the search to between December 2018 and the date the search is performed.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Emma North-Best

From: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

June 6, 2024 REFER TO: 2024-01300

Ms. Emma North-Best
MuckRock News
DEPT MR163997
Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Dear Ms. North-Best:

This is to acknowledge receipt of your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated May 22, 2024, and received by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on May 22, 2024, in which you requested any and all records regarding Distributed Denial of Secrets, abbreviated DDoSecrets.

The records you seek require a search in at least one other office within ATF. Accordingly, your request presents “unusual circumstances” under the FOIA. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(B)(iii)(I). Because of these unusual circumstances, we are extending the time limit to respond to your request by ten additional days, as permitted by the statute. We have not completed a search to determine whether there are records within the scope of your request. The time needed to process your request will depend on the complexity of our records search and on the volume and complexity of any records located.

For your information, this office assigns incoming requests to one of three tracks: simple, complex, or expedited. Each request is then handled on a first-in, first-out basis in relation to other requests in the same track. Simple requests usually receive a response in approximately one month, whereas complex requests necessarily take longer. Your request was assigned to the Complex track. It was placed in chronological order based on the date of receipt and will be handled as quickly as possible when it is assigned for processing. Your request was assigned ATF tracking number 2024-01300. Please refer to this number in any future communications regarding this request.

Because this Office is not assessing any fees in connection with the processing of FOIA requests at this time, there is no need for us to determine whether your request qualifies for a waiver of fees.

If you have any questions regarding the status of your request, you may contact our FOIA Public Liaison at 202-648-7390. Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001; e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; toll free at 1-877-684-6448; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.

Sincerely,

Hirsh D. Kravitz
Acting Chief
Information and Privacy Governance Division

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