Testing freedom of information laws โ and taking your requests
Connotea Imports 2012-07-31
Summary:
"Most of the world's people now live in countries with freedom of information laws, the majority of which were adopted in the past decade....This year the AP wondered what might happen if we tested the promises of government transparency. In a single week in January, AP reporters requested information in 105 countries and the European Union. We hand delivered letters in Liberia, logged into a website in Mexico, picked up the phone in Portugal and sent a certified letter in Japan, all asking for the same information. Then we waited. Only 14 countries responded with the full information we asked for within their legal deadline. Most countries did not provide us with any of the information we asked for. Three out of 10 requests were completely ignored...."