Obama performs freedom of information U-turn
New US president Barack Obama has ordered government agencies to release more information under that country's Freedom of Information Act, reversing the previous administration's policy of withholding information.
The US president has ordered government departments and agencies to presume that information should be released to FOI requesters.
"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," he said in a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies.
"Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve. In responding to requests under the FOIA, executive branch agencies should act promptly and in a spirit of cooperation, recognizing that such agencies are servants of the public," he said.
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