The Public Ministry of Peru has amended its TUPA (Single Administrative Procedure Document) to charge fees for scanning and delivering information requested under the Transparency Law, even when requests are submitted electronically. This measure directly contradicts current regulations, which guarantee the absolute free provision of digital responses, thereby imposing an unnecessary economic barrier to the exercise of the right of access to public information. Furthermore, the amendment introduces exclusive restrictions that limit access to parties involved in judicial cases or their lawyers, ignoring the fact that much of the content in fiscal case files is of a public nature. Additionally, fees for certified copies have been set above the actual reproduction costs, challenging constitutional precedents that require charges to be strictly limited to the entity’s direct expenses in order to ensure effective free access. This article is relevant to open data because it illustrates how administrative rules can be used to hinder the availability and reuse of public information. By monetizing and restricting access to state documents, transparency is undermined, and the ability of civil society, journalists, and researchers to audit public management is impaired. This case serves as a warning about the importance of ensuring that the technical implementation of transparency does not violate its fundamental principles of openness and free access.
Source: rpp.pePublished on 2023-10-30