Three provinces have passed laws that make it easier for governments to withhold, delay or dismiss requests for public records — and Ottawa may be next.
Articles on Freedom of Information Act
Displaying 1 - 20 of 23 articles
A lack of transparency at both the federal and state level is making it increasingly difficult for journalists and citizens to hold government to account.
The Albanese government’s proposed FOI reforms attempt to update decades-old laws. Some of it is needed, but other parts severely threaten government transparency.
Public records requested under the Freedom of Information Act have helped shape health policy and keep the government accountable – but recent staff cuts may make this impossible.
After years of anecdotes, data provides a fuller picture of government agencies hiding their work from the public they ostensibly serve.
Automation has wreaked havoc with government processes here and overseas, and freedom of information laws have been key to exposing it. But with the rise of AI, our laws need modernising.
President Alpha Condé’s pursuit of mining interests during the Ebola crisis may have foreshadowed his demise as he tightened his grip over power and plundered the state’s wealth.
In an open democracy, there is no rationale for withholding information about National Cabinet’s decisions or any documents these decisions are based on.
The news Foxtel received a speedy funding boost as the ABC faces another round of damaging cost cuts will raise eyebrows. And questions about how we spend taxpayers’ money.
One more casualty of the coronavirus pandemic: open government. Since the crisis began, local, state and federal officials throughout the United States have locked down information from the public.
There is a strong case to be made that WhatsApp messages are subject to the Freedom of Information Act in the same way as email and others forms of text messages.
When public universities and their foundations take large sums of money from political and strategic philanthropists, they can’t safeguard academic freedom unless there’s some transparency.
During Sunshine Week, three scholars of government transparency look at a potential collision between the old freedom of information movement and the new open government movement. Is there room for both?
An expert on secrecy in government explains the downsides and limits of transparency.
The effects of President Mugabe’s post-independence security clampdown that led to the murder of between 10 000 and 20 000 Zimbabweans, known as the Matabeleland massacre, continue to be felt.
The FOI request was one a first year law student could complete - instead, the courts have been tied up with political game-playing.
University’s reasons for not releasing trial data are groundless.
Data-driven algorithms drive decision-making in ways that touch our economic, social and civic lives. But they contain inherent biases and assumptions that are too often invisible to the public.
Politicians hate secrecy when in opposition but grow to love it when in power.
The use of private messaging apps that bypass government IT raise troubling issues for oversight and freedom of information.
Top contributors
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Director of the Brechner Freedom of Information Project, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida
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Associate Professor of Law, Member of Deakin Cyber and the Centre for Law as Protection, Deakin University, Deakin University
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Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, The University of Texas at San Antonio
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Special Assistant for Communications, University of Florida
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Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources and Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida
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Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science
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William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
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Lecturer in Politics, Birkbeck, University of London
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Associate Professor - Acting Dean of Law, University of Tasmania
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Professor of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University - Newark
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Honorary Senior Research Fellow, University of Stirling
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Professor of Law, Monash University
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Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Canberra
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Professor emeritus, UCL
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Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Northwestern University