World passing us by in strength of FOI laws

Sunshine Week has helped foster government transparency in the U.S. during the past 10 years, but while we have focused inward the world has passed us by.

Open government efforts have helped create a federal ombudsman program and had led to some helpful amendments to FOIA. No doubt Sunshine Week has helped with the improvements. Public exposure was sorely needed since increased post-9/11 secrecy.

But setbacks in the past 10 years include more exemptions, fees, delays and sophisticated spin tactics by government officials to thwart access. Meanwhile, amazing things have been happening all around us in the world.

Since 2005, the world has seen 45 countries adopt FOIA laws, for a total of 103 nations. The most recent adoptee was Mozambique.

Nations with FOIA laws now include Russia, China, Uganda, Tunisia, Afghanistan and Rwanda. Many of their laws are much stronger than U.S. FOIA.

For example, in China government officials are required to waive fees for the indigent and help the disabled and illiterate with requests. South Korea applies its FOIA to all three branches of government.

Many other nations have put teeth in their laws. Mexico provides an independent agency to adjudicate request disputes. In India, agencies that don't follow the law can be fined. Ethiopia provides a public records ombudsman who can force agencies to cough up records.

Indeed, world ratings of FOIA laws show the U.S. is falling behind. Access Info Europe and the Centre for Law and Democracy rate FOIA laws and place the U.S. at No. 44 in the world, behind such countries as Uganda, Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Mexico's law ranks seventh.

Granted, just because there is a law doesn't mean government officials will follow it.

Public records audits show access can be difficult in the trenches, regardless of what the law says. On average, for example, police departments in the U.S. will illegally deny access to simple crime logs about three-quarters of the time. I doubt it's much better in Russia or China.

But laws do matter, and we can learn a lot from other countries. We should look around the world, identify the best practices internationally, and craft stronger state and federal public record laws.

' David Cuillier serves as the Freedom of Information Chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists and director of the University of Arizona School of Journalism. Comments: cuillier@email.arizona.edu.