Freedom of Information Blogs and Websites

Issues concerning access to government information are important for the media and of increasing concern to media lawyers.   The right to receive information is an integral part of the right to freedom of expression and the two are expressly linked in most international human rights instruments.

We have posted about freedom of information issues on a number of occasions in the past – particularly in relation to the relationship between freedom of expression and freedom of information in the European Convention, in International Instruments and in English law.

There are a number of good blogs and websites which deal with freedom of information issues.   Inspired by an email from the US Site “The Art of Access” we have now put the links to these in a separate category on the home page.  Some of these sites and blogs were previously on the home page in other categories but most are new.  We invite readers to let us know if there are others that we should include.

The freedom of information sites and blogs that we are linking to are as follows:

• BBC – Open Secrets – a long running blog about FOI issues written by BBC journalist Martin Rosenbaum.
• David Higgerson – journalist David Higgerson’s blog about journalistic issues and, in particular, FOI.
• FOI Man -a blog about FOI by a FOI officer – freedom of information “from the inside”
• Hawk Talk -the blog of Amberhawk Training Ltd – a FOI training company continuing the information law training business operated by Pinsent Mason.
• Heather Brooke – the blog of journalist and well known FOI campaigner Heather Brooker (you can also follow her on Twitter, as “newsbrooke“).
• Information and Access (Aus) -a blog about freedom of information and access issues in Australia and internationally by law professor Rick Snell.
• Open and Shut (Aus) – FOI issues in Australia, by lawyer and consultant Peter Timmins
• Open Knowledge Foundation Blog – the Open Knowledge foundation seeks “a world in which open knowledge is ubiquitous and routine”
• Panopticon Blog – a blog about information law maintained by barristers’ chambers 11 KBW.
• Right2Info – a site which brings together information on the legal frameworks for the right to information in more than 100 countries.
• The Art of Access (US) -a blog by David Cuillier and Charles Davis which is a companion to their textbook of the same name.
• The FOI Advocate (US) – the official blog of the US National Freedom of Information Coalition – a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, with original concepts and analysis.
• The FOIA Blog (US) – a blog about FOI and government disclosure by a Washington based FOIA attorney.
• The Information Tribunal – the website of the Tribunal which decides FOIA and data protection issues in the UK – now official known as the First Tier Tribunal, General Regulatory Chamber (Information Rights).  All its decisions are available online.
• UCL Constitution Unit – FOI Research – the website of the FOI research section of UCL’s Constitution Unit
• UK FOIA Requests – Spy Blog – a site which tracks the UK FOIA requests of Spy Blog
• UK Freedom of Information Blog – established in 2003 this is now run by the Campaign for Freedom of Information
• Whatdotheyknow.com – a site for making and recording FOIA requests in the UK.