Happy 48th Birthday, FOIA

The Freedom of Information Act turns 48 on Independence Day. To celebrate, The New Yorker reveals the story behind the law that has transformed how citizens interact with their government.

Lyndon B. Johnson signed the bill into law with little fanfare on July 4, 1966, but he did release a statement that said, in part, “No one should be able to pull curtains of secrecy around decisions which can be revealed without injury to the public interest.”