Press Releases

Time for Answers on Domestic Spying Program

The recent news that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) ordered Verizon to turn over to the National Security Agency the mass collection of telephone call logs generated by millions of Verizon customers likely comes as a shock for many Americans. While officials within all three branches of our government signed off on or were briefed on the program, the public has been left completely in the dark about the scope and the extent of the government’s domestic spying.

06/06/2013

Unprecedented Civil Society Report on US OGP: One Small Step for Open Government

The US met most of its 2011 commitments to make the government more open and accountable according to an unprecedented evaluation of the US’ efforts to implement its first National Action Plan. President Obama presented the US’s commitments at the launch of the Open Government Partnership on September 20, 2011.

While the Plan reflected many of the priorities of open government advocates, the specific commitments included in the plan do not put the US on a path to accomplish those goals quickly. According to Patrice McDermott, Executive Director of OpenTheGovernment.org, “The Administration should be commended for taking good first, if often small, steps forward on a number of issues. Achieving the greater goal of transforming government to be open and accountable to the public, though, will require the proverbial giant leap.”

03/11/2013

OUT with Secrecy and IN with Sunshine

Transparency advocates with the OpenTheGovernment.org coalition recommend a list of federal government practices that should be “Out,” and what should be “In.” Despite an increased focus on open government by the Executive branch over the last few years, some of the federal government’s actions continue to hinder the public from having an informed understanding of what the government is doing and why.

12/29/2012

Presidential Policy Directive Supports Whistleblowers, Good Sign for Open and Accountable Government

Yesterday the White House took a significant step towards fostering open and accountable government and fulfilling the promise of the Open Government Partnership by issuing a historic Presidential Policy Directive on Whistleblower Protections. The Open Government Partnership is an international effort to make more open, effective, and accountable.

10/11/2012

Progress Report Marks 1 Year Anniversary of Open Government Partnership US National Plan

To mark the anniversary of the release of the Open Government Partnership US National Action Plan, OpenTheGovernment.org and a team of organizations released a progress report on the steps the Administration’s implementation of the report.

09/20/2012

2012 Secrecy Report - Sunlight Overshadowed

WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2012— The 2012 Secrecy Report released today by OpenTheGovernment.org — a coalition of more than 80 groups advocating for open and accountable government— reveals that positive changes from the Obama administration’s open government policies nevertheless appear diminished in the shadow of the President’s bold promise of unprecedented transparency. Ultimately, though, the public needs more information to judge the size, shape, and legitimacy of the government’s secrecy.

09/11/2012

Groups Protest CIA’s Covert Attack on Public Access

WASHINGTON, February 23, 2012 – More than 30 organizations joined the National Security Archive and OpenTheGovernment.org in protesting the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) recent decision to charge the public outrageous fees for the opportunity to challenge secrecy claims. The fees, which can run requesters up to $72 per hour even if no information is found or released, effectively cut off access to a system that researchers, historians, public interest advocates and others have used successfully to challenge the CIA's extreme secrecy -- the Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) process.

02/23/2012

OpenTheGovernment.org Welcomes New Commitments to Open and Accountable Government

WASHINGTON, September 20, 2011 - OpenTheGovernment.org welcomes the launch of the international Open Government Partnership and applauds President Obama and his Administration for committing to take a number of steps within the next year that will make the US federal government more open and accountable.

09/20/2011

2011 Secrecy Report Released: Administration’s Openness Agenda Shows Some Positive Results, National Security Bureaucracy Hinders Change

This morning OpenTheGovernment.org released the 2011 Secrecy Report (formerly known as the Secrecy Report Card), a quantitative report on indicators of government secrecy. This year's report chronicles positive changes in some indicators of secrecy as a result of the Obama Administration’s openness directives. The indicators tracked by the report also show a national security bureaucracy that continues to expand the size of the secret government.

09/06/2011

Openness Groups Denounce House Republican Leadership Decision to Erase Progress on Bipartisan FOIA Legislation

Press Release Contact: Amy Bennett or Patrice McDermott, OpenTheGovernment.org, 202-332-6736

Openness Groups Denounce House Republican Leadership Decision to Erase Progress on Bipartisan FOIA Legislation

July 26, 2011 - Organizations that support openness and accountability were shocked and saddened to learn that House Republican leadership plans to wipe out bipartisan progress on Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) legislation in the interest of pushing its budget package.

07/26/2011

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