Liberia: The Liberian Legislature is violating the FOI law according to a report by the Independent Information Commission, according to an article in The News.
India: Cooperative institutions are covered by the RTI Act, the Bombay high court rules.
United States: The California Supreme Court in the unanimous opinion rules that when government officials conduct public business using private email or personal devices, those communications may be subject to disclosure under the California Public Record Acts, reports the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Also AP story.
Ghana: Majority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, says the RTI legislation is likely to be proposed by the new government by May, reports Citifmonline.
Malaysia: A commentary article advocating passage of a FOI law, written by Syahredzan Johan, a partner of a law firm in Kuala Lumpur.
OGP: A discussion of future directions held by the civil society members of the Steering Committee includes lists of “must wins.”
Guam: A FOIA suit results in a $1,000 fine for the head of a Guam agency for failing to provide public documents.
Bahamas: The recently introduced FOI bill is described by the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs.
Australia: A Queensland minister is urged to resign after he admitted his staff knew about an RTI request on his private email account before he deleted it, reports The Courier Mail.
Malawi: “Reflection on Access to Information legislation in Malawi: Frustration, joy, lessons,” an article in the Nyasa Times by Lowani Mtonga.
Algeria: Comment in El Watan on a recent announcement of plans to draft a FOI law.
Australia: Tasmania’s RTI laws are being undermined by a major loophole that allows ministers to extinguish appeal rights when denying information requests, The Australian writes.
United States: “Activists Rush to Save Government Science Data — If They Can Find It,” writes The New York Times.
United States: The Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy posts its 2016 Litigation and Compliance Report.
Open Data: An experiment in community engagement around open data in Philadelphia that aims to identify datasets that could be immediately useful if made open.
Open Data: Open Knowledge International and Open Knowledge Germany launch SubsidyStories.eu – a database containing all recipients and projects of EU Structural Funds.
Sri Lanka: “Sri Lankans Ready To Seek Answers Under New Right to Information Act,” according to an article in the Global Press Journal by Manori Wijesekera. An American FOIA expert, Will Ferroggiaro is interviewed by The Daily Mirror abut the US FOIA experience.
Open Oscars: Stephen Galloway makes the case for more transparency in an article in The Hollywood Reporter.
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