Bloggers benefit as Bush signs US Freedom of Information reforms
Posted by
Martin Stabe
on 2 January 2008 at 13:38
Tags: Blogs, Freedom of Information
In a move welcomed by American journalists, President George W. Bush has signed a bill which expands the US Freedom of Information Act into law.
Among other reforms, the bill adds a 20-day time limit for agencies to respond to requests, much like the UK Freedom of Information Act’s.
Also notable about the bill is that the definition “news media” for the purposes of FOI requests, has been expanded in a way that will benefit bloggers and other non-traditional journalists.
US “representatives of the news media” have long been able to claim a waiver from certain fees applicable under the American FOI act. Under the reforms, known as the OPEN Government Act 2007, this is defined as “any person or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience.”
Here in the UK, the Government is working on FOI liberalisation proposals of its own. The Ministry of Justice is currently running a public consultation about which public or quasi-public bodies should be added to the list of organisations that must respond to FOI requests. You have until 1 February to present an argument to the consultation.
Tags: Blogs, Freedom of Information
