---
kind: "section"
citation: "43 C.F.R. § 2.36"
title: "43"
number: "2.36"
heading: "Can a bureau release information protected by Exemption 4?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/43/2.36"
---

# §2.36. Can a bureau release information protected by Exemption 4?


If a bureau determines that the requested information is protected from release by Exemption 4 of the FOIA, the bureau has no discretion to release the information. Release of information protected from release by Exemption 4 is prohibited by the Trade Secrets Act, a criminal provision found at [18 U.S.C. 1905](/usc/18/1905.md).


## Notes

### Source

Source: 77 FR 76906, Dec. 31, 2012, unless otherwise noted.

### Authority

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 552, 552a, 553, 31 U.S.C. 3717, 43 U.S.C. 1460, 1461, the Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act of 2017, Pub. L. 115-59, September 15, 2017.

### Source

Source: 40 FR 7305, Feb. 19, 1975, unless otherwise noted.