News
-
10 August 2012
FOI NOTES: Open Data, Cool Graphic, Color Requests
India/Open Data: A report on open data in India by the Transparency Access Initiative. Latin America: The Latin American Index on Budget Transparency, done by FUNDAR, a Mexican NGO. United States: The Sunlight Foundation produces a graphic showing how the news would look without FOI; showing stories with many blacked out lines. United Kingdom: The […]
-
10 August 2012
Sri Lanka Media Groups Object to Official Excuse
Sri Lanka’s Secretary to the Ministry of Media and Information Charitha Herath July 27 said concerns about national security will keep freedom of information legislation from coming before parliament any time soon. After his remarks at a meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC ) in Colombo, four leading media rights organizations […]
-
9 August 2012
OGP to Survey Members on Implementation Efforts
The Open Government Partnership will soon be checking in with participating governments on implementation of their national action plans and engaging with governments that have not yet submitted plans. A survey is being prepared that among other things will ask for a description of “at least one area of progress and on challenge your government […]
-
9 August 2012
UK ICO Provides Guidance on FOI Law and Copyrights
Copyrighted material may be disclosed pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request, according to recent guidance from the United Kingdom’s Information commissioner’s Office. The UK’s Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) permits such disclosures, the ICO guidance says “Providing information in response to a request made under FOIA constitutes an act specifically authorised under […]
-
8 August 2012
FOIAnet Begins Preparations for Tenth Annual RTK Day
FOIAnet is seeking help to prepare for the 10th annual Right to Know Day, Sept. 28, looking for photos and suggestions for a 10-10-10 Anniversary Advocacy Document. The idea for the advocacy document is “to create a concise statement which identifies our greatest achievements of the last 10 years, our greatest challenges (in the network […]
-
8 August 2012
Roy Objects to Proposals to Amend State RTI Law
RTI activist and National Advisory Council (NAC) member Aruna Roy has written to the chief minister of the state of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, to protest proposed amendments to the RTI law. The state government in January proposed that applications being limited to a single subject and be less that 150 words. Alos applicants inspecting documents […]
-
6 August 2012
South Africa Yet to Approve OGP National Action Plan
South Africa, a founding member of the Open Government Partnership and a member of the Steering Committee, has yet to approve its national action plan, the cornerstone commitment document for OGP members. Last September, South African President Jacob Zuma joined leaders from the other eight founding OGP members to announce their action plans in New […]
-
6 August 2012
Rep. Evardone Targeted for Blocking Philippine FOI Bill
Advocates for passage of a freedom of information law in the Philippines have begun an advertising blitz targeting a key House committee chairman, Rep. Ben Evardone, who is widely viewed as the major impediment to passing the bill. A cartoon shows a tensely smiling Evardone dribbling a basketball labeled “Freedom of Information.” A caption says: […]
-
6 August 2012
U.S. State Access Laws Evaluated in New Study
Connecticut is ranked first and South Carolina last in a new evaluation of state access laws in the United States. The survey of the laws and their effectiveness was done by local reporters using an evaluation scheme prepared by State Integrity, a nongovernmental organization. “In state after state, the laws are riddled with exemptions and […]
-
3 August 2012
Spanish Cabinet OKs Access Law, Releases Text
The Spanish Cabinet on July 27 approved an access bill and several days later released the long-awaited text of the bill (in Spanish). With the action by the Spanish Council of Ministers, the bill on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance, (proyecto de Ley de Transparencia, Acceso a la Información Pública y Buen Gobierno) […]
-
3 August 2012
Indian State Exempts Anti-Corruption Agency From RTIA
The government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh Cabinet voted on July 31 to exclude the anticorruption agency Lokayukta from the scope of the Right to Information Act, according to Indian activists and media reports. “This is one of the many attacks being launched against the transparency regime by the very system which the […]
-
3 August 2012
Timing for Passage of Philippines FOI Bill Slipping
Philippines Deputy House Speaker Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III said Aug. 3 that he is optimistic that the controversial Freedom of Information bill will passed by December, but the bill still is bottled up in a House committee. The bill remains in the House committee on public information chaired by Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone, who […]
-
3 August 2012
Hungary to Join OGP; Member Number 57
Hungary has notified the Open Government Partnership that it will join the multilateral organization, becoming its 57th member. Like other members, Hungary will prepare a national action plan, and an OGP spokesperson said it would be done by the end of the year. A working group of civil society organizations, including K-Monitor Watchdog for Public […]
-
3 August 2012
FOI Notes: Open Government Conference, Report on UK
Conference: “Leaders and experts from the public, private, and academic sectors will explore the role of transparency and openness in fostering more effective, innovative and accountable governance at a roundtable discussion Aug. 5-8 in Aspen, Colo.” For more information see here. The event will be streamed live at www.aspeninstitute.tv Report: The Australia and New Zealand School […]
-
3 August 2012
UK Denies Release of Cabinet Minutes on Iraq War
The British government has again refused to release the minutes of Cabinet meetings from 2003 at which the invasion of Iraq was discussed. The decision announced July 31 rejects an order by Information Commissioner Christopher Graham to release the minutes. Attorney General Dominic Grieve said he issued a certificate under the Freedom of Information Act […]
-
30 July 2012
New Zealand Commission Offers 100 FOI Reforms
The New Zealand Law Commission July 25 issued a final report making more than 100 recommendations to reform 30-year-old right to know laws. The report, The Public’s Right to Know: Review of the Official Information Legislation, evaluates the effectiveness the Official Information Act 1982 and the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. “The […]
-
30 July 2012
Ukraine Access, Data Laws Criticized by Article 19
Ukraine’s Data Protection Act, Law on Information and Law on Access to Public Information lack provisions to ensure that the rights to privacy and freedom of expression and information are appropriately balanced, according to an Article 19 analysis. The London-based group issued a series of recommendations: The Data Protection Act and the Law on Information […]
-
30 July 2012
China Continues Disclosures on Government Spending
In a new round of disclosures, the Chinese central government July 18 revealed spending on receptions, vehicles and overseas trips by officials, and China’s Cabinet has issued regulations to mandate such disclosures by state and local governments. The latest disclosures were the second time that 98 central government departments and public institutions have publicized spending […]
-
30 July 2012
OGP Requests Nominations to Serve on IRM Panel
The Open Government Partnership July 24 issued its official call for nominations of persons to serve on the eight-member international expert panel that will oversee the Independent Review Mechanism (IRM). The IRM panel will direct the process through which OPP members’ action plans will be reviewed. It will be composed of five technical/policy experts and […]
-
30 July 2012
US FOIA Ombudsman Seeks Plain Writing in Responses
The FOIA Ombudsman in the United States is seeking to make official FOI letters more readable. The Office of Government Information Services in a recent blog post asked government agencies to submit their template letters and offering to help. A recent Ombudsman’s blog post noted a law that went into effect in late 2011 mandating […]