Category «Freedom of Information»

Freedom of Information Act—How Open is Public Access to Government Data?

GAO – “The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes a legal right for individuals and organizations to request access to government information. In FY 2019, federal agencies reported that they processed nearly 878,000 FOIA requests for government information, an increase of 32% since FY 2012.  In honor of Sunshine Week—an annual observation that promotes open …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Report – The Problem with Partisan Primaries

Via Unite America –  a movement of Democrats, Republicans, and independents working to bridge the growing partisan divide and foster a more representative and functional government. Report – “Despite a record turnout in the 2020 general election, only 10% of eligible Americans nationwide cast ballots in primary elections that effectively decided the winners in a …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research

Dissemin – Fostering self-archiving of research papers in open repositories

“Dissemin detects papers behind paywalls and helps their authors to upload them in one click to an open repository. FAQ – “What is dissem.in? Dissemin is a web platform gathering metadata from many sources and analyzing the full text availability of publications of researchers. It has been designed to foster the use of repositories (rather …

Subjects: Education, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Libraries

Biden administration will investigate Trump-era attacks on science

The New York Times – “The Biden administration will investigate Trump-era political interference in science across the government, the first step in what White House officials described as a sweeping effort to rebuild a demoralized federal work force and prevent future abuses. In a letter to the leaders of all federal agencies, the White House …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

Using FOIA logs to develop news stories

MuckRock – Strategies for delving into government filing cabinets by Yilun Cheng / Edited by Michael Morisy. “In the fiscal year 2020, federal agencies received a total of 790,772 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. There are also tens of thousands of state and local agencies taking in and processing public record requests on a …

Subjects: E-Government, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

New Bill Would Increase Transparency of Presidential Records

Government Executive – Legislation was introduced to kick off National Sunshine Week. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, will introduce the ‘‘Presidential Records Preservation Act,” which would update the “1978 Presidential Records Act” by requiring the president, vice president, and other senior White House officials to “make and preserve …

Subjects: Congress, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Cleaning Corporate Governance

Frankenreiter, Jens and Hwang, Cathy and Nili, Yaron and Talley, Eric L., Cleaning Corporate Governance (February 11, 2021). University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Forthcoming, Virginia Law and Economics Research Paper No. 2021-05, Virginia Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 2021-16, Columbia Law and Economics Working Paper No.644, Univ. of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research …

Subjects: AI, Economy, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Freedom in the World 2021 Democracy under Siege

Freedom House – “As a lethal pandemic, economic and physical insecurity, and violent conflict ravaged the world, democracy’s defenders sustained heavy new losses in their struggle against authoritarian foes, shifting the international balance in favor of tyranny.As a lethal pandemic, economic and physical insecurity, and violent conflict ravaged the world in 2020, democracy’s defenders sustained …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

The Capitol Riot: Documents You Should Read

The National Security Archive – “The January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol is now the subject of systematic National Security Archive Freedom of Information Act campaign. The First installment and The Second Installment of new Document Sourcebook features a Pentagon timeline, State Department dissent, Homeland Security warning, FBI alert, and first court indictment… The January …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Access Denied: Federal Web Governance Under the Trump Administration

The Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI), February 2021: “The Trump administration pushed the boundaries of rules, guidelines, and norms in most areas of governance. Manipulating public information was a key tactic, which included dramatic and damaging changes to federal agency websites relating to environmental regulations. These changes led the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative …

Subjects: E-Government, Energy, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management

NYT Op – Lawyers Enabled Trump’s Worst Abuses

The New York Times Opinion By Sherrilyn A. Ifill – Ms. Ifill is a lawyer and author. She is president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., a civil rights legal organization. “The legal profession must reckon with its complicity in Trump’s attack on democracy. Every day, we learn more about …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Accountability 2021 – Restoring accountability in the federal government

Open the Government  – 40 Advocacy Organizations & Experts Release Accountability 2021 Reform Agenda for Biden Administration – “The Accountability 2021 effort recognizes that the President has the power to create a government that is both responsive to and representative of the public—and demands that whoever sits in the Oval Office take steps to do …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research