What’s New
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3 October 2013
European Advisory Group Backs Tshwane Principles
A body of European parliamentarians that bills itself as “the democratic conscience of Greater Europe” has endorsed “reasonable limits” on the use of “national security” as a ground for secrecy. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Oct. 2 passed a Resolution on National Security and Access to Information. A person “who […]
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3 October 2013
U.S. Court Rules for White House on Visitors’ Records
By Harry Hammit Hammit is publisher of Access Reports, a bi-monthly report on U.S. and Canadian freedom of information legal developments. The D.C. Circuit has finessed the issue of whether visitors’ logs at the White House or the Vice President’s office are agency records subject to FOIA because they are used by the Secret Service […]
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30 September 2013
Japan Secrets Proposal Criticized as Too Sweeping
The Japanese government may modify a proposal to protect state secrets, according to media reports, but the changes appear unlikely to mollify criticis who say the bill goes too far. The Prime Minister Shinzo Abe administration plans to insert language in the bill to guarantee freedom of the press and people’s right to know, according to a Japan Times […]
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30 September 2013
OGP CSO Coordinator Backs Creating New Standards
Paul Maassen, the Open Government Partnership civil society coordinator, has advocated the creation of open government standards with which to judge national efforts. His comments come in his latest newsletter as he asks, “What can civil society itself do to monitor success at the national level?” Maassen points to efforts by the Access Info Europe […]
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30 September 2013
FOI Notes: Reports, RTK Day Tweeting, Funding, Jobs, Articles
RTI Rating: Access Info Europe and the Centre for Law and Democracy issue a report on trends in their global RTI Rating, which assesses the legal framework for the right to information in every country in the world which has adopted an RTI law. “A major finding of the report is that as international standards […]
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30 September 2013
Jamaican Government Plans New Communications Policy
Jamaica’s minister with responsibility for information, Sandrea Falconer, said the government will propose ways to strengthen access to information in the country. “I am very pleased to inform you that soon, we will be tabling our new communications policy,” she said, according to a media report. “We have just done the rough draft [and] we […]
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30 September 2013
Study Examines Access in Fourteen African Countries
African countries are “only halfway towards where they should be in terms of access to information, according to a new report. The report evaluated 14 countries using a survey of experts. The average score was 5 out of 10, “not quite a pass mark,” the report said. Only four of the countries have specific access […]
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26 September 2013
Pace of Activity on FOI Legislation Still Vigorous
The pace of passing access to information laws may be slowing, but not the number of bills under consideration, according to a FreedomInfo.org tally. Is a slowdown under way in the blistering adoption rate seen in the past two decades? Twelve laws been adopted already in the latest three-year (2010-2012) period (calendar years), but only […]
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22 September 2013
Snowden-Related Concerns Expressed by Commissioners
Information commissioners from 35 countries Sept. 20 issued a resolution stating that “in principle, even intelligence services cannot deny the public’s entitlement to transparency.” The specific reference was influenced by revelations about government secrecy during “the summer of Snowden,” a frequent topic of conversation at the Eighth International Conference of Information Commissioners in Berlin Oct. 18-20. […]
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22 September 2013
Survey of Commissioners Reports Views on 3 Topics
Private bodies performing public functions comply poorly with national access to information laws compared to public bodies, according to a survey of information commissioners. The finding comes in a report prepared by the Centre for Freedom of Information, based at the University of Dundee in Scotland, and for information commissioners and presented Sept. 20 at […]
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19 September 2013
Guyana Law Made Effective July 10; 95th in World
Guyana’s Access to Information Act No. 21 of 2011 entered into force on July 10, 2013, a Guyana official has informed FreedomInfo.org. Guyana is the 95th country with a freedom of information regime. The effective date was provided by an official in the Guyana embassy in Washington, clearing up a bit of ambiguity about whether […]
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19 September 2013
Commissioners to Discuss New Access Rights Protocol
International information commissioners meeting in Berlin will be discussing whether to support the creation of a new international guarantee on the right to information. The idea was broached by Peter Schaar, the German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, at the outset of the Eighth International Conference of Information Commissioners, Sept. 17-19. […]
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19 September 2013
Disclosure Dilemma Faced by Information Experts in Berlin
An appropriate dilemma faced the organizers of the International Conference of Information Commissioners in Berlin. A request for the attendance list of the conference posed a familiar issue for the organizers: disclosure vs. privacy. Peter Schaar, the German information and privacy commissioner, announced Sept. 18 that those who did not want their presence on the […]
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18 September 2013
New Zealand to Join OGP Later This Year, Keyes Says
New Zealand Prime Minister John Keyes Sept. 19 said his country will join the Open Government Partnership later this year, overcoming previous reluctance. The announcement came after Keyes met in London with UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The UK now is an OGP co-chair and will be hosting the OGP meeting in London in late […]
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18 September 2013
Breadth of Access Laws Discussed at ICIC Meeting
The potential for access laws to cover corporations, and the rationale for such scope, was discussed Sept. 18 at the conference of information commissioners in Berlin. Speakers debated increasing access about corporate information, among other topic. Maeve McDonagh, of University College Cork, said, “The boundaries between the private and public sectors have been increasingly blurred […]
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18 September 2013
FOI Laws Under Pressure Speakers at ICIC Say
Freedom of information laws are under increasing stress, according to speakers Sept. 18 at the Eighth International Conference of Information Commissioners. The right of access to information “is under greater threat today” than at any time before, said Laura Neuman, from the Carter Center’s Access to Information Initiative. Particularly under discussion in the sessions and […]
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18 September 2013
Information Commissioners Begin Meeting in Berlin
The eighth International Conference of Information Commissioners convened Sept. 18 in Berlin with attendance of more than 150, incuding more than 30 commissioners. Peter Schaar, the German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection, in his opening remarks, laid out a broad agenda on access. Among his points, Schaar said: – Transparency should be available for those […]
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17 September 2013
Canadian Commissioner Wants Access in OGP Plan
Canada’s information commissioner Suzanne LeGault has urged Canadian officials to make modernization of the Access to Information Act a commitment in its next Open Government Partnership action plan. LeGault described the national access system pessimistically in a lengthy interview with Global News. “If this trend continues, then the system is really busting,” she said. Among […]
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16 September 2013
Court Nullifies Appointment of Four AP Commissioners
An Indian High Court Sept. 15 voided the appointment of four information commissioners in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Chief Justice Kalyan Jyothi Sen Gupta and Justice K.C. Bhanu ruled in a case filed by civil society activists K. Padmanabhaiah, Rao, V.B.J. Chelikani and N. Padmanabha Reddy. The petitioners challenged the appointment Feb. 6 […]
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16 September 2013
Uruguay Proposals on FOI Law Considered Regressive.
Uruguay is considering expanding the exemptions in its freedom of information law, with the Senate now working on government proposals being called “regressive” by groups fighting the changes. Among other things, the bill would allow less access to documents used to develop policy and to evaluation documents. The Uruguayan Senate is in the process of considering […]