Outsourced public information

Outsourced public information refers to situations where government officials shield public information by engaging in vendor relationships with private vendors to conduct the public's business, and then asserting that documents in the custody of the private vendor are not public.

Outsourcing public information is one way for public officials to engage in fact blocking, making it impossible for citizens to figure out basic facts about how a particular government entity or agency is conducting the business entrusted to it.