Blog

Chiedi: Italy’s New FOIA Machine

2018-11-13T10:05:11+01:00

Madrid, 13 April 2015 - Access Info Europe welcomes the launch of the Italian version of the Alaveteli request platform, called “Chiedi” meaning simply “Ask!”. The following article was originally published in the European Journalism Observatory's website. An online platform that enables citizens and journalists to send automated freedom of information requests to public bodies in Italy has been launched by Italian non-governmental organisation, Diritto di Sapere (Right to Know). The platform, Chiedi (Ask), aims at making access to Italy’s public records and data easier, and at strengthening transparency and accountability in the country. Chiedi is a “Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) machine”: a tool which simplifies the bureaucracy

Chiedi: Italy’s New FOIA Machine2018-11-13T10:05:11+01:00

Europe-wide Lack of Transparency of Policing of Protests

2021-06-03T17:49:19+02:00

Madrid, 13 April 2015 - There is a serious lack of transparency about the use of various types of equipment during policing of protests according to Access Info Europe, following research conducted in 42 countries and territories across Europe by means of access to information requests. The research by the Madrid-based pro-transparency organisation aimed to get a comprehensive picture of the legal framework for and actual use of different types of equipment – including batons, shields, tear gas, and rubber bullets. This goal was frustrated by the fact that not one of the 42 countries surveyed provided full information to

Europe-wide Lack of Transparency of Policing of Protests2021-06-03T17:49:19+02:00

Seeking Sign-ons for Letter to European Commission on Lobby Transparency

2018-11-13T09:46:34+01:00

Madrid, 10 April 2015 - The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU), which Access Info participates in as a Steering Committee member, is seeking sign-ons from civil society organisations for a letter to European Vice-President Frans Timmermans, as part of our campaign to improve lobbying transparency in Brussels. The EU has a voluntary lobby register that covers the European Parliament and European Commission. The register is meant to tell us who the EU's lobbyists are; who they are working for; how much they spend on influencing policy; and what specific dossiers they lobby on. Yet the lobby register

Seeking Sign-ons for Letter to European Commission on Lobby Transparency2018-11-13T09:46:34+01:00

Design of WJP Open Gov Index Skews Results

2018-11-13T09:46:34+01:00

Is this really a true picture of Open Government Worldwide? With evaluations such as "incredible", "rather amazing figure", and "missed opportunity", Dr Ben Worthy of LSE and Helen Darbishire of Access Info analyse the World Justice Project's Index 2015 and raise a series of important questions, including how accurate is the finding that 63 million people around the world asked for government information last year? Do 88% of Belarusians really get full responses to requests from government? Are 85% of Austrians aware of their (almost non-existent) FOIA law? Do 7% of Finns really pay bribes to get official information, the

Design of WJP Open Gov Index Skews Results2018-11-13T09:46:34+01:00

WJP Open Government Index Raises Interesting Questions

2018-11-13T10:05:48+01:00

freedominfo.org | 09/04/2015 English – From a right of access to information perspective, a significant structural flaw in the World Justice Project Open Government Index is to have conflated this right with access to personal data, and other types of “information requests” such as obtaining information for local business purposes, information seeking by lobbyists and questions from journalists. Read more...

WJP Open Government Index Raises Interesting Questions2018-11-13T10:05:48+01:00

Design of WJP Open Gov Index Skews Results

2018-11-13T10:05:48+01:00

freedominfo.org | 09/04/2015 English – In March 2015 the World Justice Project published its analysis of government openness in 102 countries, as measured by its Open Government Index. You can read the report here and browse the data and interactive maps here.  (See FreedomInfo.org article.) The project gives a fascinating overview of where open government stands globally and, as we drill down into the data, how difficult it is to measure. Read more...

Design of WJP Open Gov Index Skews Results2018-11-13T10:05:48+01:00

El defensor del Pueblo reconoce que el Portal de Transparencia puede tener un efecto disuasorio sobre el derecho de acceso a la información

2018-11-13T10:05:49+01:00

[ACTUALIZACIÓN. 5 de mayo de 2015 - Access Info Europe ha respondido con una nueva carta al Defensor del Pueblo exponiendo nuevas pruebas de lo denunciado en su primera queja, enviada el 17 de diciembre de 2014. Esta nueva respuesta, enviada hoy, 5 de mayo de 2015, está disponible aquí.] Madrid, 9 de abril de 2015 - Access Info Europe presentó el 17 de diciembre de 2014 una Queja ante el Defensor del Pueblo en la que denunciaba el complejo sistema de solicitud de información que el Gobierno ha puesto en marcha en el Portal de la Transparencia. En concreto

El defensor del Pueblo reconoce que el Portal de Transparencia puede tener un efecto disuasorio sobre el derecho de acceso a la información2018-11-13T10:05:49+01:00