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Session Submission Summary

Access to Information in the Age of Digitally Networked Information and Communication

Mon, May 29, 8:00 to 9:15, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Floor: 3, Aqua 307

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Access to information laws, born in the Age of Enlightenment and revived after World War II and again after the fall of Communism in parts of Europe, have reached important milestones internationally. As of the last two decades, more than half the countries of the world now have some type of access to information law. In addition, 2016 marked the 250th anniversary of the first access to information laws in the Swedish Constitution and the 50th anniversary of the US Freedom of Information Act. Access to information has been framed as a human right, a political right, and a key tool for obtaining transparency and accountability in governance. Advocates of access to information have long wrestled with political resistance to various aspects of these laws conceptualization, implementation and use. In addition to these recurrent issues, today’s access to information advocates have sought to address new challenges and opportunities introduced by the digitization of information, networked communication technologies, legal protections for personal information, and the increasing commercialization of information. The time is ripe to consider how these developments affect the goals and purposes of access to information laws, definitions of public information, and the processes designed to obtain vital public information. The panel will also consider the extent to which current policy principles and practices allow effective and meaningful access to information.

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