“The government is moving in the right direction. There is more information available on-line today than there ever has been in the past. More executive branch data is available because of the White House, more congressional data because of the work of Gingrich.”
“The government is moving in the right direction. There is more information available on-line today than there ever has been in the past. More executive branch data is available because of the White House, more congressional data because of the work of Gingrich.”
s the worldwide web of information grows, important issues regarding free access to data are emerging. One of these is citizen access to government computer files and e-mail.
Since 1966, the Freedom of Information Act has guaranteed the public’s right to access information in government agency files. Modern information access has made data instantly obtainable at the press of a key. As a result, legislators are examining new ways to apply FOIA to the burgeoning number of electronic files and data bases.
A series of initiatives hold out promise for a new era in the availability of government information. These range from steps by House Speaker Newt Gingrich to make congressional information available to the public to President Bill Clinton’s recent signing of an executive order which declassified millions of government documents and put new restrictions on how such documents are classified in the future.
Many who toil on government information issues think the improvements have been significant. Marc Rotenberg is one such person. He directs the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a group concerned about emerging privacy issues and the protection of personal data in the electronic age.
“The government is moving in the right direction,” Rotenberg told Freedom. “I know some people would like them to move faster but there is more information available on-line today than there ever has been in the past. More executive branch data is available because of the White House, more congressional data because of the work of Gingrich.”
The view of Access Reports publisher Harry Hammitt is that “ the government has decided that information should be available to everybody. Initially we will see a push to get non-controversial materials being released through the government directly or through some private vending system which takes into account the user’s ability to pay.”
Harold Relyea, senior researcher for the Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service, feels that Gingrich “ uses the sort of rule of thumb that he would like to have the American people have as much availability to information as the lobbyists do. He’s also a techie. He’s very much taken with the idea of computers and communication via modems.”
“Gingrich’s instincts,” Relyea told Freedom,“are that of a populist and that making more electronic information available to the public is the way to go. He also realizes that not everyone has computers but that libraries do and people can use these.”
Relyea noted that the Library of Congress system — called Thomas — has received 15,800 requests for information since January 1, 1995. These included seven from China, 1,300 each from Germany and Japan and 3,004 from Canada.
Making information available is only one aspect of the problem, however. For FOIA to become successful in cyberspace, regulation will be necessary. And in the vast electronic community which has prided itself on the lack of government intervention, such propositions could be difficult to administer.
Despite the increase in electronic information to the public, Relyea noted that it’s no substitute for a Freedom of Information structure. “ This is another case of the government giving people the information they want them to have” he cautioned. “I don’t think people would ever say that this takes the place of the Freedom of Information Act.”
Some consider that the FOIA laws will have to be specifically tailored to deal with the electronic community. The need to extend the reach of the act is obvious, when one considers that, within only a few years, nearly all information of any kind will be stored on electronic data bases. Freedom of Information advocates insist that the same laws and regulations which have for years governed access to the information world must now be applied within it.
Beryl Howell, aide to U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, told Freedom that the senator plans to reintroduce his Electronic Freedom of Information Act bill this year. The bill, which passed the Senate last session, is the first significant legislative attempt to clarify the responsibility of agencies to make information available to the public in electronic formats. It was co-sponsored by Senator Hank Brown and enjoyed strong bipartisan support.
It is expected that the measure if enacted will be particularly helpful to ensure that electronic messages between government offices will be retrievable under FOIA.
Rep. Gingrich’s moves to make most congressional business available on-line to the public has helped to foster an attitude of openness among the new Congress and can only help to generate support in the House for the passage of the Leahy bill once it is reintroduced.
Senator Leahy’s bill, if reintroduced, “has some prospects for passage” Rotenberg said. “I will say for FOIA litigators, however, that we don’t see the main obstacles being the electronic or non-electronic issue. We see the classification problems as the main obstacles.”
Optimism exists concerning the April signing of a new presidential executive order on security classification. The order re-established a timetable for the automatic declassification of documents and put in place controls to help prevent classification abuses.
