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FOI Laws A Global Success Story

All around the world, very real benefits result when legal tools are used to obtain government information.

Because there are so many frustrations for those who seek information, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the positive benefits. Freedom of information (FOI) reform advocates need to document and celebrate the victories.

Collecting Success Stories

FreedomInfo.org has assembled dozens of recent success stories. The FOI impact stories, small and large, were compiled from many sources.

They were culled from hundreds of media accounts and contributed by FOI advocates. They all come from the past year, although most of the requests were filed much earlier.

The stories are grouped (with links to longer descriptions) into subject categories.

To contribute more examples, email [email protected] or send them to the FOI Advocates Network Facebook page.

This July, a collection of US FOIA success stories was done by the National Security Archive, FreedomInfo.org’s publisher, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the US FOIA. The UK group My Society has documented good outcomes at request sites it helped to build around the world.

How Many Successes?

The number of examples here is dwarfed by the magnitude of requests made in the 113 countries with FOI regimes.

In India, 4.5 million requests were filed nationally and locally in 2014, according to a study. Other national figures for 2015: United States, 713,168; Mexico, 150,595; New Zealand, 90,000. There is no credible global estimate of FOI requests.

A high percentage of requests are rejected in full or in part – so it’s also virtually impossible to calculate the number of successful requests.

But individual stories have power.

Legendary Indian RTI advocate Aruna Roy recently told of Bashir, a Kashmir resident, who was shocked when a Chief Minister arrived in a helicopter for a visit. Bashir filed an RTI petition on why the minister took the chopper and how much it cost. “Apparently embarrassed to explain that the village has no accessible roads, the state administration soon laid roads,” an article about the story said, “Bashir is now a local legend.”

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