From the BBC:
An ambitious website that will open up government data to the public will launch in beta, or pilot, form in December.
Reams of anonymous data about schools, crime and health could all be included.
Data.gov.uk has been developed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the web, and Professor Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton.
It [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Opening Access category.
From the UK – Government opens data to public
EFF Obtains Records from Behind-the-Scenes Negotiations on Telecom Immunity
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) posted thousands of pages of records detailing behind-the-scenes negotiations between government agencies and Congress about providing immunity for telecoms involved in illegal government surveillance.
The documents include drafts of legislation and communications between Congress and the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Director [...]
“Let the Sunshine In”
From the White House blog:
Here at the White House, those of us on team Recovery Act put a very high premium on transparency and accountability. Like they say, “sunlight’s the best disinfectant,” and when it comes to tracking the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, our view is that we should let the sunshine in.
Well, today, [...]
House bill supports public access to CRS reports
From The Gov Docs Guy blog:
A new House bill would open Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports to the public. The measure, H.R. 3762, closely mirrors a Senate bill introduced by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) in the spring.
States urged to create data catalogs
From Government Computer News:
Federal agencies shouldn’t be the only ones to open their data for the public — states and local governments should also be ramping up efforts to become more transparent, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) contends in a newly published report.
The first thing a state should do is create [...]
White House, GPO and NARA Collaborate on Release of XML Version of Federal Register
From AALL’s Washington Blawg:
On Monday, the White House announced the official launch of the XML version of the Federal Register (FR), now available from 2000 to the present through GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys), the Federal Register Web site and Data.gov. . .
. . . There are important distinctions between the XML versions available on [...]
A More Web-Friendly Register
From the Washington Post:
Lawyers, lobbyists, librarians and concerned citizens, rejoice: As of Monday, it is much easier to access the Federal Register. The de facto daily newspaper of the executive branch publishes approximately 80,000 pages of documents each year, including presidential disaster declarations, Medicare reimbursement rates, and thousands of agency rulings on policies ranging from [...]
CREW Lawsuit Results in Release of Portions of Former VP Cheney’s Interview with FBI in Wilson Leak Investigation
From Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington:
Today, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ordered the release of records of former Vice President Cheney’s interview with the FBI in the Valerie Plame Wilson leak investigation. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), CREW had sued the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeking release of the [...]
EPA Keeps the Transparency Coming
From OMB Watch:
Two back-to-back announcements by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week extend the agency’s admirable record on transparency since the beginning of the Obama administration. EPA announced two policy changes that increase the transparency of the agency’s pesticides programs: opening up the registration process for pesticides to public scrutiny and moving to require [...]
Draft Order Would Set New Limits on Classification
From Secrecy News:
“No information may remain classified indefinitely,” according to a draft of an Obama Administration executive order on national security classification policy.
As a statement of principle, this may seem tame and self-evident. But until now, no Administration has been willing to make such a categorical statement about the temporal limits of national security secrecy, [...]