"The
previous two years have been an exciting time for those promoting
and using the right of access to information," said the report's
author, David Banisar, in its foreword. "Countries on every
continent have adopted laws. Others have amended and improved their
laws. International rights and duties through the UN and other
international bodies have emerged. Innovation has flourished."
The report found that FOI laws are used across the world to
ensure that governments are open and accountable. It also found,
though, specific instances where the laws have been used for very
specific ends beneficial to citizens.
In India, the report found, FOI laws are used to gather data on
food vendors to find out which vendors are not providing
government-subsidised food to the poor. The food distribution
system has changed as a result.
In Thailand, one mother used FOI laws to discover the entrance
exam results of a selective school to which her daughter had been
refused admittance. The results proved that influential people's
children were admitted even with poor entrance exam results. A
council of state issued a new order on school admissions.
The report also found some significant problems with FOI laws
across the world.
"There is much work to be done to reach truly transparent
government," said the report. "The culture of secrecy remains
strong in many countries. Many of the laws are not adequate and
promote access in name only. In some countries, the laws lie
dormant due to a failure to implement them properly or a lack of
demand. In others, the exemptions and fees are abused by
governments. New laws promoting secrecy in the global war on terror
have undercut access."
It is not just abroad that the report has found deficiencies in
FOI laws and implementation. Author Banisar also criticises FOI law
in the UK.
"Implementation of the Act was extremely slow," he wrote. "The
publication schemes were phased over several years starting in 2002
but the right to demand information from bodies did not go into
force until January 2005, nearly five years after the adoption of
the Act and the slowest of any country in the world."
"The biggest problems with the Act thus far has been delays on
responses and decisions both by the authorities and the Information
Commission," said the report. "Many users also report problems with
the excessive use of exemptions by public bodies. There was also
controversy over a significant increase in the number of files that
were destroyed and a new policy on email retention that called for
all email to be deleted after 90 days after printing out important
messages just prior to the commencement of the Act."
