The Foilies 2026: Celebrating Government Transparency Failures & Few Wins

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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and MuckRock's annual Foilies awards, now in their 12th year, paint a stark picture of the challenges facing government transparency. This year's 'winners' – ranging from officials redacting entire documents to agencies outright deleting records – highlight a disturbing trend: access to public information is becoming increasingly tricky, and the fight to hold power accountable is intensifying.

Why it matters

The Foilies awards reveal a concerning pattern of government agencies employing tactics to obstruct public access to information, undermining transparency and accountability. As more jurisdictions adopt these practices, the public's ability to understand and participate in the democratic process will be severely hampered.

The details

The case of Texas Governor Greg Abbott's heavily redacted emails to Elon Musk exemplifies a growing tactic: releasing documents that are essentially empty shells. Meanwhile, Vancouver, B.C.'s decision to charge a fee for non-personal public records represents a financial barrier to accessing information. The most alarming trend is the deliberate destruction of government records, as seen in the case of former Opexus contractors accused of deleting 96 government databases. The struggle to obtain audit logs for automated license plate readers also highlights the fight for transparency around government surveillance.

• The Foilies awards are given annually in March, during Sunshine Week, a nationwide celebration of open government.

What’s next

The Foilies awards highlight the need for stronger protections and enforcement of public records laws to ensure government transparency and accountability. Advocates and citizens will likely continue to push for legislative reforms and legal challenges to combat the erosion of access to public information.