Freedom of Information in the UK and the USA

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Freedom of Information in the UK and the USA
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What is Freedom of Information ?

• The right of the public to access government
  papers, documents, e mails etc
• The right of the public to access information
  held by government and businesses on them.

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Open or closed government ?

• The level of secrecy surrounding government
  activity would lead us to describe government as
  either open or closed.
• Historically, the UK has had high levels of
  government secrecy.

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Reasons for government secrecy

• National security or defence of the realm
• Commercial confidentiality
• Legal confidentiality

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War-time propaganda posters
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The Official Secrets Act (1911)
All government servants and employees could be
made to sign the Official Secrets Act which was
very much a blanket law covering all the work
of government.
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During the period known as the cold war
(1945-1989) the UK government maintained high
levels of secrecy in government on the grounds of
national security. Historian Peter Hennessy
has written extensively about this period of
British politics.
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Freedom of Information in the UK
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1980s and 1990s

• 1984 the campaign for freedom of Information
  pressure group founded.
• www.cfoi.org.uk
• Argued that the UK has taken government secrecy
  to excessive levels
• Was supported by many journalists, MPs and former
  civil servants

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1990s

• John Major promised a more open style of
  government
• Tony Blair promised a Freedom of Information
  Act in Labours 1997 manifesto.

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Unnecessary secrecy in government leads to
arrogance in government and defective policy
decisions. New Labour Manifesto 1997
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The Freedom of Information White Paper (1997)

• Exemptions were stated on grounds of
• national security
• The work of MI5 and MI6
• Law enforcement
• Public safety
• Personal privacy
• Commercial and legal confidentiality.

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Passage of the bill January 1st 2005

• Read the following stories and decide if the
  Freedom of Information Act will
• Make government more open
• Make government more accountable
• Restore or undermine public confidence in
  government

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Freedom of Information in the USA

• Despite leading the cold war against communism
  the USA adopted freedom of information much
  earlier than the UK
• 1966- Freedom of Information Act (a law covering
  the actions of the federal government. It has
  been replicated by every state to varying degrees)

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State variations in FOI laws

• The state of Iowa allows anyone to obtain a copy
  of a persons birth certificate. The state of
  Arkansas does not.
• Idaho does not permit e mails by state officials
  to be accessed by the public, Pennsylvania does
• For an exhaustive list of examples see
• http//www.rcfp.org/ogg/index.php

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Exemptions to US FOI laws.

• As in the UK, the US government can use the
  following reasons to block FOI requests
• National defence and security
• The work of the Intelligence Services
• Legal and Commercial confidentiality

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President Reagan and FOI
As a conservative Republican, Regan was not a
supporter of FOI. He issued Executive Order
12,356 to restrict FOI on National Security
grounds.
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President Clinton and FOI
In 1996 Clinton initiated the Electronic Freedom
of Information Act requiring federal agencies to
make documents created after that date available
online.
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President Bush Jnr and FOI
Bush signed executive order 13,223 restricting
public access to the records and documents of
former Presidents. Congress overturned this
order in January 2007 with the required 2/3
majority. Since 1978 the records of former
Presidents become automatic public property.
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Summary questions

• What should be the proper limits of government
  secrecy in a healthy democracy ?
• Do freedom of information laws restore or
  undermine public confidence in government ?