The investigative journalism non-profit ProPublica says the Red Cross is fighting a Freedom of Information Act request about its handling of Hurricane Sandy-related funds on the grounds that such information is a “trade secret.”
The documents include “internal and proprietary methodology and procedures for fundraising, confidential information about its internal operations, and confidential financial information,” wrote Gabrielle Levin of Gibson Dunn in a letter to the [New York] attorney general’s office.
If those details were disclosed, “the American Red Cross would suffer competitive harm because its competitors would be able to mimic the American Red Cross’s business model for an increased competitive advantage,” Levin wrote.
The New York attorney general’s office has agreed to allow certain information to stay confidential, ProPublica says.
The Red Cross was criticized after Sandy for its slow and inefficient response to the disaster.
