The origins of open-government arguments can be dated to the time of the European Age of Enlightenment, when philosophers debated the proper construction of a then nascent democratic society.
[2] The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 for example advocates for public access to information as a criterion for ensuring accountable and inclusive institutions.
After this and after the passing of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in 1966, federal courts began using the term as a synonym for government transparency.
One such institution, the euthyna, held officials to a standard of "straightness" and enforced that they give an account in front of an Assembly of citizens about everything that they did that year.
[12] Influenced by Enlightenment thought, the revolutions in United States (1776) and France (1789), enshrined provisions and requirements for public budgetary accounting and freedom of the press in constitutional articles.
Open government is widely seen to be a key hallmark of contemporary democratic practice and is often linked to the passing of freedom of information legislation.
Scandinavian countries claim to have adopted the first freedom of information legislation[citation needed], dating the origins of its modern provisions to the eighteenth century[citation needed] and Finland continuing the presumption of openness after gaining independence in 1917, passing its Act on Publicity of Official Documents in 1951 (superseded by new legislation in 1999).
[13] Some refer to this phenomenon as e-participation, which has been described as "the use of information and communication technologies to broaden and deepen political participation by enabling citizens to connect with one another and with their elected representatives".
[14] Morocco's new constitution of 2011, outlined several goals the government wishes to achieve in order to guarantee the citizens right to information.
[15] The world has been offering support to the government in order to enact these reforms through the Transparency and Accountability Development Policy Loan (DPL).
This loan is part of a joint larger program between the European Union and the African Development Bank to offer financial and technical support to governments attempting to implement reforms.
[17] Taiwan started its e-government program in 1998 and since then has had a series of laws and executive orders to enforce open government policies.
A white paper published by the National Development Council with policy goals for 2020 explores ways to increase citizen participation and use open data for further government transparency.
[18] The Philippines passed the Freedom of Information Order in 2016, outlining guidelines to practice government transparency and full public disclosure.
[22][23] In October 2023, Iranian government publicly opposed measure "tritary branches of judiciary, executive, legislative transparency program".
[26] In the Netherlands, large social unrest and the growing influence of televisions in the 1960s led to a push for more government openness.
These policies made it difficult for congressional committees to get access to records and documents, which then led to explorations of possible legislative solutions.
[39] Data disclosure is important for transparency because it increases public understanding of governmental practices and is the goal of open government.
Some commentators contend that an open, transparent government allows for the dissemination of information, which in turn helps produce greater knowledge and societal progress.
"[49] Government transparency is beneficial for efficient democracy, as information helps citizens form meaningful conclusions about upcoming legislation and vote for them in the next election.
They point to the role of whistleblowers reporting from inside the government bureaucracy (individuals like Daniel Ellsberg or Paul van Buitenen).
They argue that an independent and inquiring press, printed or electronic, is often a stronger guarantor of transparency than legislative checks and balances.
[56] A randomized controlled trial conducted with 463 delegates of the National Assembly of Vietnam showed that increased transparency of the legislative proceedings, such as debates and query transcripts, curtailed delegates activity in the query sessions, avoiding taking part in activities that could embarrass leaders of the Vietnamese regime.
Often unreasonably broad, repetitive, or based on misinformation, the high volume of requests has led to what a Colorado official said amounts to "a denial-of-service attack on local government."
Local election officials in Florida and Michigan have reported spending 25-70% of staff time in recent years on processing public records requests.
Some governments have created portals in order to allow people to see critical data and improve accountability and transparency.
Promoting open government in Latin American countries has increased public trust and reduced corruption.
[69] OGD principles require that data is complete, primary, timely, accessible, machine processable, non-discriminatory, non-proprietary, and license free.