What’s New
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15 June 2016
US Adopts FOIA Reforms; Outcome Weaker Than Hoped
By Toby McIntosh Reforms are coming to the US Freedom of Information Act. The House on June 13 approved a Senate bill to amend FOIA and President Obama will sign it, the White House said. The bill writes into law a specific presumption of openness, strengthens the FOIA ombudsman, puts a time limit on the use of the […]
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9 June 2016
US Coalition Seeks Removal of Exemptions From Bill
Pro-transparency groups in the United States have objected to provisions in a defense bill that would restrict access to information. More than 30 called for the removal of three exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from the Senate National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017 (S. 2943). “The FOIA exemptions would severely undermine […]
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9 June 2016
Namibian NGO Coalition Welcomes Draft ATI Law
The Access to Information in Namibia (Action) Coalition has praised the government’s draft access to information (ATI) law. The coalition issued a statement after the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology released for consultation and discussion both a draft ATI working document and a draft of the revised National Information Policy, The Namibian report. Read […]
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9 June 2016
FOI Notes: Success Stories, Brazil, Civic Tech, Israel, Mongolia, Liberia, US, Sweden, OGP
FOI Success: Part Two in a blog post series to highlight interesting and impactful requests that have been made through the 25 websites running with Alaveteli FOI software across the world. You can see Part One here. Four interesting stories, from Hungary’s Alaveteli site KiMitTud and the pan-European site AsktheEU. Brazil: Article 19’s Brazil office has released a new […]
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6 June 2016
FOI Notes: OGP Contest, Nigeria, India, US, Peru, Pakistan, More
OGP Contest: “Making Transparency Count” is the focus of a new OGP contest, deadline June 27. Read more here. Nigeria: “The Nigerian government has released statement declaring the total amount of cash recovered from looters of the federal treasury since the inception of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure. A statement issued by the Minister of Information, […]
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2 June 2016
Namibian Government Offers Lengthy Draft RTI Legislation
The Namibian government has proposed a draft right to information law. The long-awaited 46-page draft contains a detailed collection of reasons not to provide information and some unusual provisions. The draft will be the subject of consultations beginning June 13, according to an article in The Namibian with a few preliminary reactions to the draft. Pro-transparency […]
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2 June 2016
FOI Notes: India, EU, UK, US, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Open Data
India: A unique monument celebrating the RTI Act has been installed in the Beawar town of Rajasthan, where the RTI movement had started 20 years ago, according to articles in The Hindu (good photo of memorial), The Times of India and The Hindustan Times. Susheela Singh of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan (MKSS) said at a […]
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26 May 2016
Parliament in Ghana Delays Consideration of RTI Bill
The parliament in Ghana has postponed consideration of a Right to Information bill to allow for consultations on its content, but Deputy Attorney General Dominic Ayine said a bill will pass before July, according to Ghana News and CitiNews. Members reportedly disagreed over exemptions for the Office of the President, his Vice President, Cabinet records […]
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26 May 2016
FOI Notes: India, US, Open Meetings of the Future, Malaysia, UK, Canada, More
India: The Central Information Commission directs the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and Union home ministry to disclose the report on the basis of which Delhi assembly was dissolved in November 2014, saying the Lieutenant Governor does not enjoy immunity from disclosing such reports, according to the text of the decision and articles such as in […]
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19 May 2016
Argentinian Deputies Approve Access to Information Bill
Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies has given overwhelming approval to a law on Access to Public Information. The vote on the bill presented by Deputy Karina Banfi was 229-4, with one abstention, after five hours of debate, according to media reports (in Spanish) such as ones in La Neuva, Terra, and another, with more detail, in Parliamentario.com. “We […]
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19 May 2016
Italian Council Ratifies Transparency Decree
The Italian Council of Ministers has approved a Transparency Decree providing for access to information. “The first Italian FOIA” was welcomed by Foia4Italy, a network of more than 30 civil society organizations that campaigned for the decree and logged 88,000 names on a petition for the decree. Some improvements were made in the final version, […]
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19 May 2016
Parliament Renews Debate on Bill for Ghana
Ghana’s Parliament has resumed consideration of a Right to Information bill, but disagreements surfaced quickly. “Parliament was divided over the meaning of a clause in the Right to Information (RTI) Bill, which requires a person urgently requesting for information to provide reasons,” according to Ghana Web. The article said some members argued that such a […]
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19 May 2016
Philippines Court Denies Access Sought by Industry
The constitutional guarantee to information “does not open every door to any and all information but is rather confined to public concern,” according to a 13-page decision by the Supreme Court in the case of Sereno vs Committee on Trade and Related Matters (GR No. 175210). The court denied a petition for certiorari of the […]
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19 May 2016
Nepal Commission Orders Access to Government Offices
The National Information Commission has ordered the government to provide access to Singha Durbar, the government secretariat complex, for persons seeking to exercise their rights under the Right to Information Act. The commission issued the order in response to an application filed the Chairman of the Freedom Forum Taranath Dahal and several hundred youths associated […]
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19 May 2016
FOI Notes: India, Open Algorithms, US, UK, Malaysia, Canada, Pakistan, More
India: The Central Information Commission has ruled that the Cabinet Secretariat cannot deny access to the items on the agenda placed before the Union Cabinet after a meeting is over. A copy of the CIC’s order along with related documents and a detailed write-up about this case are accessible on the website of the Commonwealth Human […]
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19 May 2016
OGP Sets Benchmarks for Turkish Rehabilitation
The Open Government Partnership Steering Committee has set a series of four tasks for the Turkish government to perform to avoid being designated as an “inactive” member. Despite having missed several key deadlines over several years, Turkey was given another chance. However, Turkey will be automatically designated “inactive” at the September Steering Committee meeting if it […]
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12 May 2016
Elected Philippines President Plans to Issue FOI Order
The man just elected to be president of the Philippines says he will immediately issue an executive order of freedom of information, according to reports in The Standard and The Inquirer. The presumptive president, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, said at a May 10 press conference that if Congress refuses to pass a FOI bill, […]
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12 May 2016
FOI Notes: Africa, FOI Research, South Africa, Open Data, Anti-Corruption, Way More
Africa: A World Bank blog reports, “African countries come together to address gaps in managing digital information for open government.” On April 22 and April 29, representatives from Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Sierre Leone, South Africa, and Tanzania met to discuss “an issue of mounting concern: managing records and information to support open […]
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11 May 2016
Sri Lankan Court Decision on RTI Legislation Analyzed
Analysis has continued on the Sri Lankan Supreme Court’s pronouncements on the draft right to information law, with the most detailed analysis saying the decision “held little surprises.” So wrote Kishali Pinto Jayawardene, a lawyer and human rights activist, who said: “In the main, the ruling did not pose formidable challenges to the basic integrity […]
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11 May 2016
Namibian Official Promises July Introduction of ATI Bill
Namibian deputy minister of information Stanley Simataa has promised to propose an access to information bill in July, according to an article in The Namibian. The pledge came in a keynote address delivered on his behalf by Frans Nghitila, director of media relations in the information ministry, during the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) […]