Obama to .gov agencies: More Internet openness

In one of his first official acts as president, Barack Obama ordered more government openness, marking an abrupt end to his predecessor's policy of extraordinary secrecy.

Obama's still-be-named chief information officer -- some speculation has centered on Washington, D.C., CTO Vivek Kundra -- is required to come up with ways within 120 days to make the administration more Internet-friendly. (The memorandum says agencies must "harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public.")

The second memorandum overrules the Bush administration's controversial policy, issued a few weeks after September 11, 2001, instructing agencies to limit their responses to FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests as much as possible. OpenTheGovernment.org said last fall that Bush had "exercised unprecedented levels not only of restriction of access to information" but also of "suppression of discussion of those policies and their underpinnings and sources."

Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft's October 2001 memorandum promises that the Justice Department would "defend" decisions not to release materials, and an accompanying note talks about denying requests "to provide necessary protection in the wake of terrorism."

That's what Obama essentially revoked. Here's an excerpt from the FOIA memo:

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: 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... All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.

And an excerpt from the memo "Transparency and Open Government":

Information maintained by the federal government is a national asset. My administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public.

[kewell82]

Now we'll know what is on page 47 in the Book of Secrets.

[JuggerNaut]

I hope what Obama means by open also means using open standard technology for access and delivery of that content (made public). Basically I shouldn't need a particular OS and/or web browser to view such *.gov content. Maybe the E-Government Act of 2002 applies here?

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c107:H.R.2458.ENR:

[getwired]

Yes, because the government needs to ensure that users running Netscape Navigator 2 on OS/2 can get access to everything.

[pentest]

getwired,

It doesn't take any extra effort to make your web pages viewable to all.***

In fact, it takes extra effort to target a specific browser.


*** assuming you are not using a standard ignoring browser such as IE6 or an ancient browser.

[Wookiee-1138]

I think I hear Oliver Stone and Michael Moore partying.

[sanenazok]

A new chief officer of whatever is NOT what the government should be doing during a downturn. What's this DC political climber going to accomplish during 120 days? Nothing. He'll issue a press release and create a new website. No outsider to a government agency can tell the agency how to harness new technology other than useless platitudes. Hmm..sounds like a perfect job for a career politician from a non-functioning jurisdiction (D.C.).

[pentest]

Wow, you mean concepts that Bush revoked such as openness, accountability and freedom are being restored?

It is about time!!!!

[Len Bullard]

IBM shrewdly maneuvered into position with Obama. They will try to make their definitions of open standards and systems stick and it will be bad for anyone who doesn't drink the kool-aid of Linux, Second Life, yadda. It's a disaster in the making for the American computer industry but it will keep IBM's global services margins high while continuing to diminish American manufacturing and efforts to create IP-unencumbered standards.

[harie123]

The initiative taken for the concern is very serious and needs an attention of everyone. This is the concern which exists in the society and needs to be eliminated from the society as soon as possible.


harie

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