Government and legal types who practice in the area of law governed by the Freedom of Information Act tend to refer (pretentiously) to that law as "the FOIA." I once survived an extremely most tedious seminar on the subject ... three days of my life that may help explain why I'm no longer a government lawyer.
That's a strange thing, there. Every time I've written it -- and most times when I've seen it written -- the article is dropped on second reference (so "an exception to FOIA," not "an exception to the FOIA"). I usually hear it in conversation the same way; I can't actually think of a time I heard it otherwise. That said, I do not doubt your account that the experts on FOIA presenting at your seminar said it in the way you related, and I would agree that it sounds pretentious, according some sort of preeminent, singular status to their area of expertise. A subtle play at job preservation, perhaps.