The Uruguay government has published a decree regulating the use of the Law on Access to Public Information (Law 18.381), according to newspaper stories and a report by the Knight Center.
The Archives and Access to Public Information Center launched a campaign, “Make Your Own Request.”
The Knight Center wrote:
According to the decree, whenever public institutions consider information to be “private,” they have to justify this decision with a well-founded reason, explained the newspaper El País. The resolution must demonstrate objectively “reasonable expectation” that the disclosure of information would cause “harm to the protected public interest.” The Unit for Access to Public Information (UAIP) – the body responsible for promoting access to information and coordinating related policies – has the power to declassify information if the justifications of a government agency are deemed inadequate.
The decree also stipulates that public institutions should designate one or more employees to handle information access requests, according to El País. Another positive aspect of the law, the newspaper said, is it expands the information that public institutions are obliged to disseminate on their websites, which should be updated monthly.
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