In its first meeting of 2018, the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee unanimously voted to approve a series of recommendations. If implemented, they would improve transparency, accountability and efficiency in administering the nation's preeminent public records law at federal government agencies. Bonus news: a new FOIA.gov is coming soon.
Continue readingHow federal agencies are quietly removing government Web resources, and why it matters
Under the Trump administration, federal agencies have been removing important Web resources without proactive notice or justification. We should hold our government accountable to clearly explain its actions and not remove Web content when there’s no good reason for doing so.
Continue readingIt’s time for the Justice Department to finalize and release its new FOIA policy
As a result, this morning, the Sunlight Foundation, Cause of Action Institute, and our open government allies wrote a letter asking The United States Department of Justice and the The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to finalize and publish a new Freedom of Information Act policy that makes "release-to-one, release-to-all" the official stance of the United States government.
Continue reading18F makes recommendations to Justice Department for new national FOIA website
We applaud 18F for their work to date and look forward to seeing beta.foia.gov live, but the FOIA project is far from over. What happens next will depend in part on funding and political will.
Continue readingHow federal agencies and Congress pass laws to deny individual FOIA requests
A judge can force a federal agency to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request. But, while the FOIA is pending, the agency can ask Congress to pass a law allowing it to withhold the requested information.
Continue readingA “release to one, release to all” policy for FOIA will serve the public interest
Today, the Sunlight Foundation commented on a “release to one, release to all” policy for the Freedom of Information Act... View Article
Continue readingAnalyzing the state of open data in 2016
A new report sheds light on the state of open data in the United States.
Continue readingOur conversation with Wired Italia: Evaluating open government with a broad lens matters
Wired Italia asked Sunlight for answers on a series of questions about open government. Here are our answers.
Continue readingConnecting freedom of information to open data: How to build a better FOIA.gov
The next White House will have an extraordinary opportunity to close the gap between open data and FOIA when it deploys a new portal in 2017. Here's what will make the next FOIA.gov more effective and useful for the American people.
Continue readingOpen government initiative from D.C. mayor, not so open
In an ironic twist, Sunlight had to file a FOIA request in order to receive a copy of a mayoral order on open government.
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