# What does (or did it mean) when someone says the FBI has a 'File' on someone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835 "2014-11-06T01:47:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/1 "2014-11-06T01:47:29Z")
The thread title should be fairly self-explanatory. In this computer age, I think we all know that a ‘file’ can contain anything from the most useless details to the raunchiest and most detailed things that you can imagine. There was a time, especially during the 1940’s - 1970’s when it was quietly whispered that government agencies, often the FBI, kept a ‘file’ on someone. What did those types of files contain and why did they do it? Was it mainly name, address and family member type information or detailed photos and house floorplans combined with their 3rd grade report card? How did they obtain that information that wasn’t publicly available? What did they plan to do with it, where did they store these files (there must have been a tremendous amount of them) and how would an agent or anyone else even know there was such a thing let alone get access to one? It seems like a quaint custom in this day when the NSA has much more information on everyone and the internet can tell anyone basic information (and sometimes much more) about anyone. What did they actually do with those files and who compiled and maintained them in this Land of the Free? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/2 "2014-11-06T02:00:42Z")
I think back in the day it meant the FBI was interested in you and perhaps tracking you in some way. For example, if you associated with the wrong people, and the FBI found out from an informant, they might open a file on you to collect information that may be used in some future legal action. IOW, it was a bad thing if the FBI had a file on you… or perhaps a badge of honor. And we’re talking about an actual ‘file’, meaning a folder with papers in them. The FBI maintained them, and I assume that many of them were scanned and converted to digital files at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/3 "2014-11-06T02:14:11Z")
The file contains all the info about your past… Arrests, convictions, aliases, fetishes, distinguishing marks, etc etc. Also, Sometimes it’s called a dossier. If you’re a white collar criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/4 "2014-11-06T02:50:29Z")
I would imagine, for the most part, the old filing system was replaced by the NCIC. So now a cop can have a look at your data before walking up to the car and asking to see your papers. [http://fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fbi/is/ncic.htm](http://fas.org/irp/agency/doj/fbi/is/ncic.htm) But, they still must have a more secretive database. One where they store the info they collect after infiltrating groups of anti-war Quakers and what not. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/5 "2014-11-07T19:37:50Z")
In the old day if the FBI had a file on someone it meant they were monitoring or had investigated them for possible involvement in a crime. Depending on the level of interest in that person it might contain a few pieces of paper or be quite extensive. The purpose of the file was to record the results of an investigation so that if a new investigation was required they would not have to start from scratch but have access to all relevant information. The way they obtained the information was typical police work of talking to associates and following the person around. It is also true that Hoover liked to keep files on politicians in order to blackmail them with embarrassing information. I have heard that the FBI blackmailed MKL Jr. to stop badmouthing the FBI by threatening to release tapes of affairs. The files of the suspected criminals would have been kept at a records office. Access would have been granted to anyone with the proper credentials and a need to know. The files of public figures would have been kept in a private place and granted only to Hoover’s associates. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/6 "2014-11-07T20:05:22Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > In the old day if the FBI had a file on someone it meant they were monitoring or had investigated them for possible involvement in a crime. Depending on the level of interest in that person it might contain a few pieces of paper or be quite extensive. The purpose of the file was to record the results of an investigation so that if a new investigation was required they would not have to start from scratch but have access to all relevant information. The way they obtained the information was typical police work of talking to associates and following the person around. > It is also true that Hoover liked to keep files on politicians in order to blackmail them with embarrassing information. > I have heard that the FBI blackmailed MKL Jr. to stop badmouthing the FBI by threatening to release tapes of affairs. > The files of the suspected criminals would have been kept at a records office. Access would have been granted to anyone with the proper credentials and a need to know. > The files of public figures would have been kept in a private place and granted only to Hoover’s associates. According to a biography I read on J. Edgar Hoover, this is basically correct. He kept files of people he was personally interested in close by, along with the official FBI collection of pornography. After his sudden death, these files were shredded by his personal secretary before anyone else could get to them. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/7 "2014-11-07T21:25:13Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > I think back in the day it meant the FBI was interested in you and perhaps tracking you in some way. For example, if you associated with the wrong people, and the FBI found out from an informant, they might open a file on you to collect information that may be used in some future legal action. IOW, it was a bad thing if the FBI had a file on you… or perhaps a badge of honor. And we’re talking about an actual ‘file’, meaning a folder with papers in them. The FBI maintained them, and I assume that many of them were scanned and converted to digital files at some point. > [@puddleglum](#): > > In the old day if the FBI had a file on someone it meant they were monitoring or had investigated them for possible involvement in a crime. Depending on the level of interest in that person it might contain a few pieces of paper or be quite extensive. The purpose of the file was to record the results of an investigation so that if a new investigation was required they would not have to start from scratch but have access to all relevant information. The way they obtained the information was typical police work of talking to associates and following the person around… > [@Fishtar](#): > > I would imagine, for the most part, the old filing system was replaced by the NCIC. So now a cop can have a look at your data before walking up to the car…But, they still must have a more secretive database. One where they store the info they collect after infiltrating groups of anti-war Quakers and what not. I think there are two separate concepts here. One is the basic idea that the FBI has the basic biographical data (name, SSN, DOB, etc.) on a large number of people that they can cross-reference with criminal conviction records, immigration records, professional licensure registries, etc. and make available for search. If you are in this, that basically means that your data is in basic public databases and doesn’t say much about how “interested” they really are in you. You have a file, in a strict technological sense, but you do not “Have A File”. The second concept is more along the stereotypical concept of having a “file”. This means that the FBI is specifically interested in _you_ and specifically seeking out negative information on you that would not be obvious from the basic data. This is where an agent might be assigned an action item to manually read through all of your online postings and summarize them in 3-5 pages, attach a GPS monitor to your car, remove items from your trash and send them for comprehensive DNA tests, and assign an assistant to register as a novice with the North Haverbrook Sewing Circle and try to entice you on a date in order to investigate allegations that you have a tattoo in an intimate area indicating loyalty to a certain subversive organization. This is where you get into real “secret agent” territory. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/8 "2014-11-07T21:58:45Z")
Go to the FBI web site and click on FOIA (Freedom of Information Act). You can ask them if they have a file on you and they will send it to you. I wrote the software for this and the software to digitize 2 billion documents to make them searchable just to meet the FOIA requirements. All names mentioned in your file will be redacted of course, except yours. ---
**Author:** ![Anita\_Dayoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Anita\_Dayoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anita_Dayoff)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/9 "2014-11-07T21:59:30Z")
Today it means you’re living in America, or elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/10 "2014-11-07T22:02:49Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > and assign an assistant to […] try to entice you on a date in order to investigate allegations that you have a tattoo in an intimate area OK. How do you go to get the FBI interested in you? Thanks in advance for the tips. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/11 "2014-11-07T22:02:54Z")
Take a look at the file the FBI assembled for the infamous song [Louie Louie](http://vault.fbi.gov/louie-louie-the-song/louie-louie-the-song/view). And here’s the one for [Lucille Ball.](http://vault.fbi.gov/lucille-ball/lucille-ball-part-01-of-01/view) In fairness, the FBI didn’t start these investigations on their own; they were a result of a citizen complaint (in the case of the song) and inquiry about Ball from someone who was probably a VIP. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/12 "2014-11-08T00:50:26Z")
Damn. If you look at the FBI version of the song and the actual lyrics [according to the master](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/281/what-are-the-real-lyrics-to-louie-louie), you just have to shake your head. According to Cecil: > [@](#): > > The song was about seven years old when the Kingsmen recorded their version in 1963, and the fantastic legend that grew up in its wake–a legend that even an FCC investigation couldn’t kill–seems to have sprung solely from their extraordinary lack of elocution. They became Rorschach Lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-or-did-it-mean-when-someone-says-the-fbi-has-a-file-on-someone/703835/13 "2014-11-08T03:47:19Z")
Some FBI files, like [John Lennon’s,](http://vault.fbi.gov/john-winston-lennon) are available for public viewing. Take a poke around!