EPIC v. DEA: Court Rules Agency Can Keep Secret the Names of Agencies Using Hemisphere

A federal court in Washington, DC ruled this week that the DEA does not have to disclose to EPIC the names of the other agencies that use the Hemisphere call records database managed by AT&T. Earlier in the same FOIA case, EPIC obtained documents from DEA which revealed that both the FBI and CBP query the Hemisphere database. The agency was allowed to submit a secret affidavit in support of its claims, but the court ordered the agency to file a revised declaration, "consistent with its recent disclosures to EPIC."