Decree 780/2024 violates the Law on Access to Public Information by introducing ambiguous exceptions that expand bureaucratic discretion to withhold data. By incorporating penalties for the applicant’s “bad faith” and creating ill-defined categories of privacy, the decree shifts the principle of good faith—originally intended to bind public authorities—onto citizens. This vagueness enables the public administration to deny information on subjective pretexts, undermining the legal mandate for maximum disclosure. Moreover, the decree eliminates the balancing test between public interest and privacy, prioritizing the protection of personal data even when transparency is crucial for accountability. This means that the administration may withhold information about state benefits or government actions without assessing whether the social benefit outweighs the harm to individuals. By restricting access through broad interpretations of potential harm, the decree weakens mechanisms of citizen oversight and fosters opacity in state management, contrary to democratic and international standards. This regulation is relevant to open data because it demonstrates how institutional opacity can be legalized through ambiguous norms, impeding the free flow of public data. For open data to fulfill its democratic function, there must be clear safeguards against administrative discretion. The struggle for transparency demands laws that presume the public nature of data and strictly limit exceptions, ensuring that citizens can access, analyze, and use government information to demand accountability and actively participate in society.
Source:Published on 2024-09-05
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