European Union: The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) makes access to information requests asking 17 EU member state permanent representations for a list of meetings held with lobbyists in the previous 12 months. Only four governments (Ireland, Romania, the Netherlands and Poland) provided all or some information.
My Society: The UK group drops hints about a new project codenamed Alaveteli Professional. “Our intention is that this toolset will sit alongside as a companion service to our free FOI platform Alaveteli.org, and should it become viable we may offer a version as a commercial service through mySociety Ltd. In the interim we’ll be speaking to lots of users, especially journalists and campaigning organisations on their use of FOI. If you’re are interested in helping us shape this product, please get in touch with us at hello@mysociety.org and we’ll keep you up to date.”
United States: Independent data journalist Max Galka launchies FOIA Mapper, a Knight Foundation-backed site that aims to help users find government information. Described generally by Poynter.
United States: The National Security Archive has created a new “Cyber Vault” that will acquire and publish primary documents on all aspects of cyber activity.
Transparency Conference: A “Democratic Secrecy” panel is being planned a part of the MANCEPT Workshops in Political Theory, Manchester (UK), 7-9 September 2016. “What ratio of secrecy and transparency in politics should we seek?” asks a of the planned conference. Another main topic will be unauthorized disclosures. The organizers have set a May 20 deadline for abstract submissions and suggest 15 topics.
Transparency Publication: A Research Handbook on Transparency has been published. It was edited by Padideh Ala’i, Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law, US and Robert G. Vaughn, Professor of Law and A. Allen King Scholar Emeritus, American University Washington College of Law, US
In the last two decades transparency has become a ubiquitous and stubbornly ambiguous term. Typically understood to promote rule of law, democratic participation, anti-corruption initiatives, human rights, and economic efficiency, transparency can also legitimate bureaucratic power, advance undemocratic forms of governance, and aid in global centralization of power. This path-breaking volume, comprising original contributions on a range of countries and environments, exposes the many faces of transparency by allowing readers to see the uncertainties, inconsistencies and surprises contained within the current conceptions and applications of the term.
India: The BBC does a feature on “The man who helps a village through uncomfortable questions,” about RTI activist KM Yadav in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Extractive Resources: Rebecca Iwerks and Varsha Venugopal of the Natural Resoruce Governance Institute publish a paper “written for national and subnational policy makers and civil society organizations trying to improve transparency and governance of the extractive sector at the local level.” The World Bank writes about “Making the Most of Extractive Industries Data.”
Open Data: Craig Fagan, Senior Policy Coordinator at Transparency International, posts an article called “Open Data Can Fight Corruption”
Open Data: Cities and counties are increasingly embracing “open data”, launching sites that allow residents to explore and download government information—but costs of those data portals can vary significantly, a KPCC analysis of contracts found.
Unites States: The Seattle Times celebrates a state Supreme Court ruling in a public-records case that upheld a $546,509 judgment against the state Department of Labor and Industries finding that it repeatedly delayed the release of records related to lead exposure at a gun shop. A 2104 series, “Loaded with lead,” was based on the records.
United States: “Why FOIA Obligations Don’t Apply to Congress,” is the title of an article by Charles Clark in Government Executive.
United States: “The Ugly Cynicism of Obama’s Declassification Diplomacy,” according to Stephen Cohen in The New Republic, writing about President’s Obama’s release of documents related to the Argentina’s dirty war. “Why did he wait so long?”
United States: “Insightful FOIA tips from ‘FOIA terrorist’ Jason Leopold at NICAR 2016,” as described by John Tedesco of the San Antonio Express-News.
European Union: The European Data Portal (EDP) takes over from ePSI as a repository for public sector information available on public data portals across European countries, and as as resource base for open data-related reports, blogs and events, all described in a blog post. Separately, staffers from the data portal write, “European Countries Making Clear Progress with Open Data.”
Africa: “Technology for Transparency: Cases from Sub-Saharan Africa,” by Sydney Steel in the Harvard Political Review.
India: In the Indian state of Kerala a Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation had sought suggestions from State governments on amending the Right to Information Act “to remedy difficulties caused by fake and irrelevant RTI applications,” reports Roy Mather in The Sun. “In its response, the government suggested that professional media persons (Press, TV etc) might be kept out of the purview of eligible applicants or might be charged more for information given as such information are likely to be used for their publicity and profit.”
United States: “Trying (and Trying) to Get Records From the ‘Most Transparent Administration’ Ever,” a first-hand report by Justin Elliot of ProPublica.
Nepal: The Freedom Forum has filed a complaint at the National Information Commission seeking easy access to the general public to Singha Durbar, the central government secretariat complex,” according to a My Republica article.
United Nations: Journalist Florence Hartmann is released after seven days in a UN jail for not having paid a fine in a court judgment against her. “She was convicted of contempt of court in 2009 for writing about how tribunal judges had issued confidential decisions ruling that parts of the records provided by Serbia could be used in closed sessions of the court but had to be kept out of the public eye,” The New York Times reported. Article 19 filed an amicus brief in 2010.
Australia: “A new register of agricultural land will not be made public despite the Government’s promise to provide more transparency over foreign investment in Australian farms,” reports Lucy Barbour of ABC.
Australia: The Productivity Commission announces a 12-month public inquiry into ways to improve the availability and use of public and private sector data.
Argentina: Karina Banfi advocates for a FOI law in a La Nacion article (Spanish).
United States: “Two of America’s most famously secretive institutions, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Apple, are squaring off over encryption and backdoors, and three FOIA exemptions stand in the way of those wanting a document-driven view of the fight,” according to a Muckrock posting.
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