For comparison to snooping on search site searchers. 1-3-96. WsJo: "Freedom of Information Act Gets Wider Use by Sleuths, Snoops and Senators." FOIA is a handy tool for companies, politicians and journalists to snoop on one another. Many people who file requests aren't aware that the requests themselves are made public. Those who really know the process make FOIA requests on other people's FOIA requests. "It's not like I tapped someone's phone or got them drunk. These are public documents." Journalists sometimes use FOIA to scoop their colleagues. A cottage industry provides information about other people seeking information. Lexis/Nexis carries synopses of FOIA requests. So rich is FOIA intelligence that some are learning to take countermeasures. For a $36 fee, FOI Services will file its own FOIA requests on behalf of people who wish to remain anonymous. FOI_led