Title 44 — Public Printing and DocumentsRelease 119-73

§7246 WITHHOLDING OF INFORMATION.

Title 44 › Chapter CHAPTER 41— - ACCESS TO FEDERAL ELECTRONIC INFORMATION › § 7246

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Federal agencies can keep some reports or parts of reports out of the public reports online portal. They may withhold information that is protected under section 552 of title 5 or section 552a of title 5. They also do not have to publish reports or parts of reports that are classified, could harm national security, are law enforcement sensitive, or describe executive branch information security policies, procedures, or activities. The Director is not required to review or redact congressionally required reports before they are posted. Agency heads are responsible for withholding the protected information before publishing.

Full Legal Text

Title 44, §7246

Public Printing and Documents — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

“(a)Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to—

“(1)require the disclosure of information, records, or reports that are exempt from public disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, or that are required to be withheld under section 552a of title 5, United States Code; or

“(2)impose any affirmative duty on the Director to review congressionally mandated reports submitted for publication to the reports online portal for the purpose of identifying and redacting such information or records.

“(b)“(1)Consistent with subsection (a)(1), the head of a Federal agency may withhold from the Director, and from publication on the reports online portal, any information, records, or reports that are exempt from public disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code, or that are required to be withheld under section 552a of title 5, United States Code.

“(2)Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to require the publication, on the reports online portal or otherwise, of any report containing information that is classified, the public release of which could have a harmful effect on national security, or that is otherwise prohibited.

“(3)Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to require the publication on the reports online portal or otherwise of any congressionally mandated report—

“(A)containing information that is law enforcement sensitive; or

“(B)that describe[s] information security policies, procedures, or activities of the executive branch.

“(c)In publishing congressionally mandated reports to the reports online portal in accordance with this subtitle, the head of each Federal agency shall be responsible for withholding information pursuant to the requirements of this section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

44 U.S.C. § 7246

Title 44 — Public Printing and Documents

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73