News
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21 January 2015
Open Data Barometer Finds Low Pressure, Small Gains
Only “small gains” have occurred in the availability of open data in 86 countries, according to the second edition of the Open Data Barometer. “There is still a long way to go to put the power of data in the hands of citizens,” according to the report issued Jan. 20 by the Worldwide Web Foundation. […]
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15 January 2015
Election in Sri Lanka Boosts Prospects for RTI Legislation
Prospects for passage of a right to information law in Sri Lanka have improved dramatically with the election of Maithripala Sirisena. Sirisena has pledged that an RTI law would be among the measures passed within his first 100 days in office. Sirisena’s top aide Rajitha Senaratne said that Sirisena has ordered the immediate lifting of […]
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15 January 2015
India May Permit Stamps to Be Used for RTI Payments
The Indian Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has invited comment on the idea of letting requesters use postage stamps to pay for the costs of seeking information under the Right to Information Act. The department which administers the act also has set up a committee to discuss the proposal. Comments are due by Feb. […]
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15 January 2015
Indian Panel Moving to Select Next Chief Commissioner
The Indian government is moving to choose a new Central Chief Information Commissioner, a post vacant for almost five months. A search committee created by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) has received more than 200 responses to an advertisement. All seven serving information commissioners have applied, as have many current and former high-level […]
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15 January 2015
FOI Notes: Training, Spain, Aid, Extractives, Nigeria, UK, India, US, Open Data
FOI Training: The right to information is one of six topics in a training program developed by Development Initiatives “to develop and strengthen the skills, capacities and strategic visions of civil society organisations working in the areas of aid and budget analysis, monitoring and advocacy.” Nigeria: Seember Nyager, CEO at the Public and Private Development […]
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8 January 2015
Indian Commission Considers Penalties in Political Case
The Indian Central Information Commission has taken a preliminary step to deal with six political parties refusing to obey its order to comply with the right to information law, and a bigger decision is pending. The CIC on Jan. 4 told the Urban Development Ministry to make public all records of land and bungalows allotted […]
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8 January 2015
Indian RTI Applicant Arrested For Not Standing at Hearing
An information commissioner in the Indian state of Tamil Nado had RTI activist Siva Elango arrested after he refused to stand while appearing at a commission hearing. Elango was appealing a decision when chief information commissioner K.S. Sripathi insisted that he stand when replying to his questions. Elango replied that there was no rule preventing […]
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8 January 2015
FOI Notes: India, US, UK, Open Data, Latin America
India: An article in Legally India says the Bar Council of India (BCI) requires lawyers who take the All India Bar Examination to agree not to file Right to Information requests for their AIBE answer sheets or the answer key, and overrides the provisions of the RTI Act by imposing a time limit of 20 […]
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7 January 2015
Meeting of Commissioners Set for April 21-23 in Chile
The ninth international meeting of information commissioners will be held April 21-23 in Chile. A preliminary program shows that there will be two days of speeches and panel discussions followed by a day for private meetings of national information commissioners. The conference will take place in Universidad Católica de Chile, in Santiago. Attendance is open […]
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3 January 2015
Mozambique President Signs FOI Legislation; 103rd Nation
The outgoing president of Mozambique, Armando Guebuza, has signed freedom of information legislation into law. Mozambique becomes the 103rd nation with a FOI regime. The text of the law was not immediately available. The exact date of signature also could not be confirmed, but Guebuza’s term expired Dec. 31. Mozambique’s Constitutional Council Dec. 30 confirmed […]
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1 January 2015
China Issues Regulations on Contract Transparency
China’s cabinet on Dec. 31 announced new regulations on the transparency of government contracts, according to the official media, Xinhua. Procurement contracts should b published in the media, the announcement said. Information concerning the bidding results and transactions will be made public, too. Punishment for illegal practices will be made more severe, according to the […]
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1 January 2015
FOI Notes: Google Report, India, Pakistan, US
Google: Google released its semiannual transparency report, including nearly 30 examples of content that dozens of governments have asked the search engine giant to remove. Overall, Google received 3,105 requests from world governments between July 2013 and December 2013 to wipe 14,367 pieces of content. In the previous 6-month allotment, from December 2012 to July […]
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24 December 2014
FOIA Bill Post Mortem: Mysteries, Multiple Causes
By Toby McIntosh The final days of modest legislation to reform the Freedom of Information Act were surprisingly dramatic. Still lingering as a key mystery is why House Speaker John Boehner refused to bring the bill up, sealing its fate in 2014. Passage was widely considered “a no brainer,” as one supporter put it. Unusual […]
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24 December 2014
South African Court Orders Release of Key Points Data
A South African court has given the Ministry of Police 30 days to make public a list of National Key Points, places designated by the government as being of key security importance. The South Gauteng High Court Dec. 1 decision says the government’s justification for withholding these records amounted to “platitudes and a recitation of […]
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24 December 2014
FOI Notes: User Tips, UK, Mexico, Japan, Zambia, Canada, Environmental Transparency
FOI User Tricks: Tips (and Spanish version) for using FOI penned by independent Mexican journalist Alejandra Xanic von Bertrab, who shared a Pulitzer Prize with New York Times reporter David Barstow for their investigation into Walmart’s expansion in Mexico that required more than 800 FOIA requests. There’s more detail, but in brief: Explore alternate routes. Study […]
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18 December 2014
Group Complains About Spanish FOI Website
Access Info Europe Dec. 17 asked the Spanish Ombudsman to look at various “obstacles” to using Spain’s transparency law. The Madrid-based group objected that “requesters may only send information requests via the Transparency Portal by complicated and time-consuming process, which resulted in no member of Access Info Europe has yet having completed the bureaucratic steps […]
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18 December 2014
New Zealand Ombudsman Orders Review of Access
The New Zealand Chief Ombudsman has ordered a review of the practices of government agencies in processing requests under the Official Information Act (OIA). Dame Beverley Wakem said that 12 central government agencies have been selected for formal review, while a further 63 agencies and all 27 Ministers’ offices are being asked to complete a […]
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18 December 2014
IFAI Orders Disclosure of Database of Professionals
Mexico’s Federal Institute for Access to Information (IFAI) has ordered the disclosure of the database of the National Registry of Professionals. Commissioner Areli Cano Guadiana also said that greater accessibility should be provided. (See order, in Spanish) The IFAI said sensitive personal data should be exempted from disclosure, including addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. […]
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18 December 2014
FOI Notes: Commentary, Research, Corporate Transparency, More
Commentary: Maureen Kariuki, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Civil Society Coordinator for Africa and the Middle East, writes about the using the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the OGP to push access to information reforms. OGP: The OGP issues its research agenda, described in a blog post. Corporate Transparency: The topic is addressed […]
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17 December 2014
Uruguayan Court Orders Release of Mine Information
The Civil Court of Appeals in Uruguay has ordered the release of information about an iron mine, finding that disclosure under an environmental law trumps the company’s confidentiality claim. (See decision in Spanish.) In confirming a lower court decision, the court said the Ministry of Industry must release the information related to the mining project […]