News
-
21 July 2011
U.S., India Announce Plan for Creating Open Data Platforms
The United States and India July 19 announced plans to jointly develop “open source” platforms for other governments to use to post government data. The software will be available by the first quarter of 2011, according to one paragraph in a fact sheet on of bilateral science and technology understandings issued while U.S. Secretary of […]
-
21 July 2011
Poland Proposes New Restrictions on Documents
The Polish government has proposed new restrictions on access to documents. The amendments would prevent the disclosure of documents used in the preparation of official positions on a variety of defined matters. The restriction would apply to materials regarding the commercialization or privatization of property, court proceedings and international negotiations. Later release of the documents […]
-
15 July 2011
India-U.S. to Announce Joint Transparency Initiative
The United States and India on July 19 in India will unveil plans to help other countries use technology to improve access to government information. The joint effort will focus primarily on “harnessing technology” to enhance openness efforts, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra told FreedomInfo.org, saving details for the announcement next week. The bilateral effort was announced last […]
-
15 July 2011
Eight Countries to Join Open Government Partnership
Eight governments have indicated their intention to join the Open Government Partnership, according to Maria Otero, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs. Speaking at a reception following the July 12 kick-off event in Washington, Otero listed Kenya, Honduras, Mongolia, Chile, Uruguay, Thailand, Liberia and Canada. They would join eight other countries who […]
-
15 July 2011
EU Proposes Tighter Controls on Access to Documents
“The 27 EU-ambassadors in Brussels have agreed to make internal security rules for information binding law in the member countries,” according to an article in Wobbing Europe by Staffan Dahllöf. In addition, the 15 top members of the European Parliament have decided that information ”disadvantageous” to the EU shall not be disclosed to the public, […]
-
15 July 2011
Bulgarian AIP Offers Proposals in Annual Report
The Access to Information Programme (AIP) in Bulgaria has identified persistent problems facing those seeking government information and made a series of recommendations. The eleventh annual report containing the information — Access to Information in Bulgaria 2010 — is now available in English online. AIP identifies several persisting problems: Lack of unified practices in terms […]
-
15 July 2011
Armenia Group Publishes Latest in Blacklist Series
The Freedom of Information Center of Armenia (FOICA) has “blacklisted” six officials for violating the Freedom of Information Law during the second quarter of 2012. The blacklist is topped by Transport and Communication Minister Manuk Vardanyan followed by Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, Emergency Situations Minister Armen Yeritsyan, Hamalsaranakanner Condominium chairman Armen Tadevosyan, Yerevan Municipality Information […]
-
12 July 2011
India Withdraws From Open Government Partnership
By Toby McIntosh On the eve of the kick-off event for the Open Government Partnership, India dropped out, but the show went on, with enthusiastic pro-transparency speeches at a day-long event at the U.S. State Department in Washington. The unexpected pull-out by a country with an international reputation for its strong right to information law […]
-
11 July 2011
Kenya Creates Portal for Government Data
Kenya July 8 launched a web portal offering free access to government information. There are over 160 datasets including the complete 2009 census, national budget data, nation and county public expenditure data, information on health care and school facilities. See the Data Catalog for a full list of what is available. “Today marks an important […]
-
11 July 2011
Tunisia Issues Decree on Access to Documents
Tunisia has issued a Decree on Access to Administrative Documents, but the exemptions are “overly broad,” according to an analysis by Article 19. The decree, adopted in May, has “many positive features,” the London-based freedom of expression group said, but the exceptions “can largely undermine the impact of the Decree in assuring transparency and accountability.” […]
-
8 July 2011
OGP Initiative Envisions National Action Plans
By Toby McIntosh Organizers of the Open Government Partnership hope that more than 55 countries will be motivated by a kick-off event in Washington July 12 to prepare pro-transparency “action plans.” The action plans, to be drafted with public input, would be unveiled in early September in New York when heads of state gather for […]
-
8 July 2011
Indian CIC Criticizes Exemption for CBI
The Indian Central Information Commission has crossed swords with the government over its exemption of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the Right to Information Act as the matter heads toward a likely conclusion in the courts. The Cabinet action is “without sanction of the law” and “not in consonance with the letter or […]
-
8 July 2011
World Bank Reaches Deal With MPs in Ghana
By Toby McIntosh Key members of Parliament in Ghana have committed to hold regional consultations on the proposed right to information bill, FreedomInfo.org has learned. The sessions will be held during the summer recess from mid-July to mid-August in five locations around the country. Members of Parliament have said since late last year that they wanted […]
-
8 July 2011
FOI Notes: New OECD Data, Bangladesh, Open Data
OECD: The second edition of Government at a Glance almost doubles the number of available indicators in a report on the performance of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development governments, to nearly 60. The data covers some elements of freedom of information laws. The survey was completed by 32 OECD countries, as well as by the Russian Federation […]
-
7 July 2011
Sierra Leone Official Lists FOIA Bill Impediments
In a detailed and frank speech, a key Sierra Leone official has described the impediments facing freedom of information legislation that has been ready for a vote in Parliament since March. The July 7 talk by Edward Kwame Yankson, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communications, included a jibe at civil society groups […]
-
7 July 2011
UK to Release Data on Government Performance
United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron July 7 ordered the release of more information about medical care, hospitals, schools and transportation services. His action will require a wide range of public bodies to publish data on their performance. “This represents the most ambitious open data agenda of any government anywhere in the world,” according to the […]
-
7 July 2011
Polish Government Proposes Data Reuse Legislation
The Polish government has proposed legislation that would make public information available for re-use, according to a press release by the public interest group Centrum Cyfrowe. The draft bill will now be sent to Parliament. Under the bill, all public information accessible online or made available pursuant through individiual requests will be available for re-use free […]
-
7 July 2011
Nigerian State of Ekiti Approves FOI Law
Kayode Fayemi, governor of the Nigerian state of Ekiti State, signed a freedom of information act for his state on July 4. The legislation was described as a domestication” of the new Nigerian national FOIA law in report by Emma Maduabuchi in The Independent. The Nigerian law was signed in May. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) […]
-
7 July 2011
Sri Lankan RTI Backers Shudder at Rajapaksa Quote
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa last week told newspaper editors that a law to protect the people’s right to information was unnecessary. He said instead that he could ensure access to information, saying “just ask me for a file and I will give it to you,” according media reports such as this one in Lakmiba […]
-
7 July 2011
Survey Finds FOIA Backlog Growing in United States
Forty-five years after President Johnson signed the U.S. Freedom of Information Act into law in 1966, federal agency backlogs of FOIA requests are growing, with the oldest requests at eight agencies dating back over a decade and the single oldest request now 20 years old, according to the Knight Open Government Survey by the National […]