Changes to Web content can be especially confusing and opaque to the public when agencies don’t proactively document and explain how and why they change their websites. By clearly laying out how agencies are managing Web resources and changing websites using this classification system, our goal is to inform the public and lawmakers, gain insight into better systems for digital resource management, and provide information that can help keep our government accountable.
Continue readingCongress should hold the Facebook Election Commission accountable to its transparency commitments
In the wake of foreign interference on national elections using its platform, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg committed to more political ad transparency in video and text shared with billions of users. The public interest, however, requires Congress and the FEC to hold the world's largest social network accountable.
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 readingStart spreading the news: New York is opening more data today
The City of New York is working on broadening the impact and users of open data in the Big Apple as deadlines mandated in the landmark 2012 law draw nearer.
Continue readingHere’s how a journalist in Atlanta mapped closed data for accountability
This is a story about the reality of public access to data about public housing in Atlanta, and what it takes for a young journalist to use modern technology to inform the public about our own communities.
Continue readingWhen recording bans leave the public in the dark, illustrators shed light
After the White House’s decision to bar recording, a CNN sketch artist document the press briefing. Long before livestreams on YouTube, however, illustrations have been a key medium used to inform the public about courts, hearings and speeches with limited access.
Continue readingIn Kansas City, residents have a new friend on Facebook: an open data chatbot
Just because data is open doesn’t mean it’s easy to use. Kansas City wants to see if its Facebook chatbot can change that.
Continue readingOpen, private and secure by default: US Census Bureau to switch API from HTTP to HTTPS
The United States should be open, secure and protect the privacy of its people by default when it discloses information to the public. When those principles are written not only in the legal code but software code, the public benefits.
Continue readingOnline search for Obama-era White House visitor logs goes offline
The Web-based interface for the Obama White House visitor logs is gone. We hope the Trump administration will see the value of online disclosure in the 21st century and commits to
Continue readingProtecting Data, Protecting Residents
Today, the Sunlight Foundation is publishing a new white paper that lays out ten principles for responsible municipal data management... View Article
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