Information Policy

Personal Portal

A new French online public service portal will allow citizens to create a personal account for easier dealings with government. Services on 'mon.service-public.fr' include editing of employment information and retirement services, while individual accounts store electronic documents and save users from having to enter the same personal information several times. More services will be added throughout 2009:

http://mon.service-public.fr

United States: ARTICLE 19 and Privacy International Welcome New Openness Policies

ARTICLE 19 and Privacy International (PI) welcome US President Barack Obama’s announcement on 21 January of new policies enhancing public access to government information, in one of his first official actions as President. These changes mark a significant departure from previous policies.

The new rules revise existing controls on access to government information under the Freedom of Information Act and the Presidential Records Act. They create a presumption in favour of disclosure and also encourage affirmative disclosure of information. They call for “creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government”.

The Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act clearly sets out new standards that should be the benchmark for transparency:

In the face of doubt, openness prevails. The Government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve.

ARTICLE 19 and PI welcome President Obama’s initiative – on his first day in office – which recognises the importance of openness and reverses years of excessive secrecy.

These changes are not only important to the US but to the global community, given the US’ importance in promoting openness. Other nations should take this opportunity to reaffirm their commitments to adopting easy-to-use, effective mechanisms to allow their citizens access to information.

Dr Agnès Callamard, ARTICLE 19 Executive Director, said: “ARTICLE 19 and PI welcome President Obama’s commitment to transparency and openness. That it comes on the first full day of President Obama’s administration signals a new approach to government domestically in the US. It also marks a shift towards re-establishing the US position as a global leader in promoting human rights, good governance and democracy.”

DE: “Open Content – Open Access” report

Open Content – Open Access. Freie Inhalte als Herausforderung für Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Politik

The "Open Content – Open Access" report provides a detailed description of the status quo regarding open content and its potential for further development, and explains how the open content principle can be applied to the field of scientific publishing (open access). It particularly focuses on the situation in Baden-Württemberg, which boasts an important publishing industry.

The analysis is based on an in-depth desk research project to determine the present standing of open content as well as future trends. Extensive data, third-party studies, company information and press releases were evaluated for this purpose.

The research report also discusses legal issues, presents the challenges arising as a result of open content and summarises current market structures together with possible business models. The specific strategies adopted in the higher education sector to deal with open access are illustrated in a case study of Konstanz University library.

Original URL:
http://www.fazit-forschung.de/opencontent.html?&L=3

Obama begins web transition

The Obama administration has officially taken the reigns of the President's official web site. Just minutes after Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, the official blog at whitehouse.gov ran an introductory post from the new administration and the site's official heading was changed to read ' President Barack Obama.' The blog kicks of an overhaul of the White House site not only visually, but also functionally. The new resident promises to use the site as a means of making his administration more transparent and easier to communicate with than previous Presidents. In addition to policy outlines and news updates, the administration plans to use the site to host all non-emergency legislation for five days prior to a Presidential signing, allowing the public to view and comment on all bills before they are signed into law. The Obama team also plans to set up news feeds for users, both as RSS feeds and mailing lists

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2234676/obama-begins-web-transition

European Union: Commission Adopts Strategy for Creative Content Online

In 2008, the Commission adopted a policy paper on creative content online - building on a 2006 consultation process and launching further measures to support the cross-border delivery of online content.

It proposes 2 main measures:

* a new public consultation to prepare a recommendation on creative content online.

* a new stakeholder discussion group - the "Content online platform" - which will look at forthcoming challenges.

and identifies 4 main areas requiring EU action:

* availability of creative content - if online content services are to develop, more good content is needed, actively licensed and accurately priced for use via the new platforms.

* multi-territory licensing of creative content - the lack of multi-country copyright licences makes it difficult for online content to fully benefit from potential access to the entire EU market.

* digital rights management systems (DRMs) - these technologies, often used to restrict access to high-value content (e.g. sports and movies), need to be made more interoperable, i.e. designed to work with all types of hard- and software.

* piracy / unauthorized file-sharing - cooperation is needed between service providers, producers and consumers, to:

- ensure an adequate online supply of easily available and attractive content

- adequately protect copyrighted works

- raise awareness that copyright secures a legitimate reward for producers.

http://www.ibls.com/internet_law_news_portal_view.aspx?s=sa&id=1525