freedom of information
Public records access
Freedom of information is the principle that government records and official documents should be accessible to the public.
In many countries, freedom of information laws let citizens request documents from government agencies: She filed a freedom of information request to obtain the police records.
The concept reflects the idea that democratic accountability requires transparency—that people have a right to know what their government is doing.
- public recordsOfficially filed, publicly accessible documents
- government recordsDocuments kept by authorities
- open dataFreely shareable digital information
- transparencyState of being see-through
- sunshine lawsLegislation mandating government transparency
accountability · openness · right to know · whistleblower protection · whistleblowing · FOIA · disclosure · paper trail · open government · secrecy · need to know · oversight · civil liberties · investigative journalism · classified · classified documents · journalists · redacted
- Government Reformbudget reform, fiscal reform, government reform, policy reform, regulatory reform
- pressnewspaper, press laws, free press, newsroom, press cards
- legal systemsconstitutional law, judiciary, criminal code, court system, penal code
- UK Policytax policy, economic policy, education policy, health policy, housing policy
- anti-corruptionanti-graft, whistleblower protection, whistleblowers, financial disclosure, conflict of interest
- civic engagementcivic engagement, citizen participation, civic participation, civic responsibility, civic activism
freedom of informationgovernment secrecy
Official information suppression
classified information · information blackout · cover-up · redaction · non-disclosure
freedom of informationmedia blackout
Suppression of press coverage
information control · press censorship · restricted access · propaganda · thought control
freedom, information, freeing, freer, freelance, freedoms, freest, unfree, freehold