FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
As far as official or government-held
information is concerned, an FOI law usually
determines who can access what data and
how, who should disclose them, and what
data are exempt from disclosure.⁵ Its benefits
are as varied as they are numerous. For one,
it allows people to protect their rights from
State abuses, mismanagement, and
corruption. By fostering openness and
transparency in governance, it also improves
the people’s trust in government decisionmaking processes.⁶ Some even consider it a
critical prerequisite to the very exercise of
democracy, whereby effective public
participation in the democratic process is
only possible when people are properly
informed of the activities and policies of their
government.
Under a typical FOI system, a person may
request for access to information held by a
government agency, and the latter is legally
bound to respond and provide that
information, unless prevented by lawful
causes. In more modern regimes, FOI already
includes access to machine-readable data or
open data.⁷
An FOI law fails to fulfill its objectives when
there is “burdensome mechanism for
information access, weak enforcement,
arbitrary use of exceptions, bad state of
record-keeping and archive management
system, and poor implementation”.⁸
Shifting from a culture of secrecy to one of
transparency is a considerable challenge for
many governments, but not impossible.⁹ On
record, Sweden was the first country to have
enacted a law that governs access to
government-held information in 1766.¹⁰ As of
December 2016, there were already 115
countries with FOI regimes.¹¹ They vary in
content, scope, and implementation, as
determined by several factors: constitutional
laws, availability of funds and trained
implementers, and the activism of civil
society and journalists, among others.¹²
⁵ Stein, L & Camaj, L. (2018, February). Freedom of
Information.
communication.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/978019
0228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-97
⁶ Banisar, D. (2010). Linking ICTs, the right to privacy, freedom
of expression and access to information. East African Journal
of Peace and Human Rights, 16(1), pp. 124-154.
poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?
ID=468065099084003018003006111014117074002033009
058089053073090096071091003069070115090056119012
045118056006021028020070018112124050004033058059
085030017084118079089011047082044026124099019021
081007107108118104110015026070083097101094001083
119005026029100&EXT=pdf
⁷ Tan, N., Chavez, L, et. al. (2014, July 27). Fast facts Freedom
of information laws around the world. Rappler.
www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/63867-fast-facts-access-toinformation-laws-world
⁸ unesco.org/new/en/communication-andinformation/freedom-of-expression/freedom-of-information/
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Tan, N., Chavez, L, et. al. (2014, July 27). Op. cit.
¹¹ www.freedominfo.org/2016/12/eight-countries-adopt-foiregimes-2016/
¹² unesco.org/new/en/communication-andinformation/freedom-of-expression/freedom-of-information/
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