Vatican: “Does the Vatican Need a FOIA Act,” an article in the British publication Catholic Herald by Fr. Alexander Lucie-Smith.
Job Postings: The Open Society Foundation’s Washington Office seeks a Senior Policy Analyst to work on transparency, media and election issues, including the Open Government Initiative, whistleblower protections, government secrecy, internet policy, media diversity, campaign finance and voting rights. The Senior Policy Analyst will be the Washington Office’s expert on these issues and will advocate for open society principles in these areas, work with or create coalitions to develop and implement advocacy strategies, produce briefing materials and reports, engage with the media and be a liaison with other offices within OSF working on these issues.
International FOI: Associated Press Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll March 1 gave a speech about the AP and Freedom of Information at the Berlin Forum on Freedom of Expression.
Research: A paper entitled “The New Ambiquity of Open Government’” has been published by Harlan Yu of Princeton University and David G. Robinson of Yale Law School. The abstract says:
“Open government” used to carry a hard political edge: it referred to politically sensitive disclosures of government information. The phrase was first used in the 1950s, in the debates leading up to passage of the Freedom of Information Act. But over the last few years, that traditional meaning has blurred, and has shifted toward technology.
Open technologies involve sharing data over the Internet, and all kinds of governments can use them, for all kinds of reasons. Recent public policies have stretched the label “open government” to reach any public sector use of these technologies. Thus, “open government data” might refer to data that makes the government as a whole more open (that is, more transparent), but might equally well refer to politically neutral public sector disclosures that are easy to reuse, but that may have nothing to do with public accountability. Today a regime can call itself “open” if it builds the right kind of web site—even if it does not become more accountable or transparent. This shift in vocabulary makes it harder for policymakers and activists to articulate clear priorities and make cogent demands.
This essay proposes a more useful way for participants on all sides to frame the debate: We separate the politics of open government from the technologies of open data. Technology can make public information more adaptable, empowering third parties to contribute in exciting new ways across many aspects of civic life. But technological enhancements will not resolve debates about the best priorities for civic life, and enhancements to government services are no substitute for public accountability.
Yahoo: What happens when someone posts this question on Yahoo? Can you file a freedom of information act for information held by a private company? Most responders say “no.” One says, “Sure. Or you could file a ham sandwich, which would have the same effect.”
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