Transparency advocates are up in arms over the Obama administration's move to ditch a federal regulation that subjects its Office of Administration to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). As a result, large portions of White House correspondence will no longer be accessible through public records requests.

The White House made the announcement about the rule change on Tuesday, explaining that the Office of Administration will now act in exemption from the FOIA, which is a bill that passed in 1966 allowing citizens to obtain government documents from federal agencies. This means that there will no longer be a formal process in place for the public to request that the White House voluntarily disclose documents as part of "discretionary disclosure," reports USA Today.

The Office of Administration, which keeps record of White House emails among other things, has complied with FOIA regulations for the last three decades. However, before President Obama come into office, a federal appeals court ruled in 2009 that the office was not subject to the FOIA, "because it performs only operational and administrative tasks in support of the president and his staff and therefore, under our precedent, lacks substantial independent authority."

The appeals court also ruled that the White House was required to archive the e-mails, but not release them under the FOIA. Instead, White House e-mails do not have to be released until at least five years after the end of the administration, according to the Presidential Records Act.

Up until now, the Office of Administration continued to work under FOIA rules while government watchdog groups used records from the office to shed light on how the White House works.

"This is an office that operated under the FOIA for 30 years, and when it became politically inconvenient, they decided they weren't subject to the Freedom of Information Act anymore," said Tom Fitton of the conservative Judicial Watch, according to USA Today

Watchdog groups also note that the announcement ironically comes during Sunshine Week, a time to highlight, celebrate and promote open access to government, reports The Hill.

"The irony of this being Sunshine Week is not lost on me," said Anne Weismann of the liberal Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). "It is completely out of step with the president's supposed commitment to transparency. That is a critical office, especially if you want to know, for example, how the White House is dealing with e-mail," she said.

In spite of the rule change, White House spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said the administration remains committed "to work towards unprecedented openness in government."

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