USACM Recommendations on Open Government

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Joseph Lorenzo Hall <joehall () gmail com>
Date: February 6, 2009 6:52:48 AM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: USACM Recommendations on Open Government

http://www.acm.org/public-policy/open-government

# ACM U.S. Public Policy Committee (USACM) Recommendations on Open  
Government

## BACKGROUND

Computing and networking technology has made it easier than ever
before for organizations and individuals to share, analyze and
understand large bodies of information. Government agencies and
legislators have long recognized the value of the Internet, having
helped to create it, and share a strong commitment to providing for
the information needs of citizens and others.

Government agencies increasingly post information -- often for the
benefit of individual citizens -- on the Internet and through the
World Wide Web (WWW). The U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
(USACM) applauds ongoing efforts to make these data as accessible as
possible to all Americans. However, law, custom and technology have
all contributed to diverse and often inconsistent forms of publication
for the data provided.

Many Internet users are learning to control their online experience,
including combining and analyzing information in innovative ways that
go beyond what the data's original publishers imagined.  Individual
citizens, companies and organizations have begun to use computers to
analyze government data, often creating and sharing tools that allow
others to perform their own analyses. This process can be enhanced by
government policies that promote data reusability, which often can be
achieved through modest technical measures. But today, various parts
of governments at all levels have differing and sometimes detrimental
policies toward promoting a vibrant landscape of third-party web sites
and tools that can enhance the usefulness of government data.

USACM makes the following policy recommendations for data that is
already considered public information.


## RECOMMENDATIONS

* Data published by the government should be in formats and approaches
 that promote analysis and reuse of that data.

* Data republished by the government that has been received or stored
 in a machine-readable format (such as as online regulatory filings)
 should preserve the machine-readability of that data.

* Information should be posted so as to also be accessible to citizens
 with limitations and disabilities.

* Citizens should be able to download complete datasets of regulatory,
 legislative or other information, or appropriately chosen subsets of
 that information, when it is published by government.

* Citizens should be able to directly access government-published
 datasets using standard methods such as queries via an API
 (Application Programming Interface).

* Government bodies publishing data online should always seek to
 publish using data formats that do not include executable content.

* Published content should be digitally signed or include attestation
 of publication/creation date, authenticity, and integrity.


--
Joseph Lorenzo Hall
ACCURATE Postdoctoral Research Associate
UC Berkeley School of Information
Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy
http://josephhall.org/




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