Scottish FOI Appeals Jump 83% Amid AI Surge, Warning of Crisis
Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton has warned of a potential oversight crisis following an 83 per cent surge in appeals. The dramatic increase has been driven partly by the use of generative artificial intelligence tools.
What Happened
According to the Commissioner's annual report published on Tuesday, 352 appeals were lodged between August and October 2025 alone, accounting for a third of the annual total. Of those specific appeals, 34 per cent were found to be AI-generated and were ultimately closed before any investigation began.
Mr Hamilton stated that generative AI has emerged as a defining issue for his office. He noted that AI tools are now capable of drafting requests and assisting users through responses and reviews. This reduction in friction has increased appeal volumes in ways that were not originally envisaged when the Freedom of Information legislation was enacted 20 years ago. Furthermore, the Commissioner pointed out that AI is reshaping casework by introducing more complex submissions alongside a rise in AI-generated material that frequently contains errors or fabricated references.
The massive influx of new appeal cases between August and October 2025 also delayed ongoing progress regarding historic backlogs. Despite the surge, the watchdog's average time required to close a case decreased from 8.52 months in the 2024-25 period down to 5.51 months.
Key Details
- Key statistics and figures from the annual report include:
- An 83 per cent overall surge in appeals.
- 352 appeals lodged between August and October 2025.
- 34 per cent of appeals from the August–October period identified as AI-generated and closed prior to investigation.
- A total of 111,241 FOI and Environmental Information Regulation (EIR) requests made to Scottish public authorities during 2025-26, marking a 13 per cent increase year-over-year.
- Project Blue update: A historic backlog of 384 cases saw 279 cases closed, 26 under active investigation, and 79 remaining awaiting live investigation as of March 31, 2026.
Why It Matters
The rapid adoption of generative AI tools to draft and multiply freedom of information appeals is directly straining regulatory oversight bodies. As automated workflows lower the barrier to filing high-volume appeals—sometimes containing errors or fabricated references—public authorities and watchdogs face severe disruptions to their backlog reduction targets and casework operations.
What We Know So Far
All facts reported are drawn directly from the Scottish Information Commissioner's annual report published on Tuesday, with no unconfirmed rumors or speculation noted.
