Sunshine Law

Freedom of information laws are designed to grant the general public access to data held by government bodies and, where applicable, entities on the private sector. The emergence of freedom of information legislation is a response to increasing dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency on matters such as government policy development and decision making. In recent years the term "Access to Information Act" has also been used. Freedom of Information laws establish "right-to-know" legal provisions whereby requests for information of public interest, often government-related, must be obliged and provided at little or no cost, subject to certain exceptions. A broader sense of the duty to publish and promote openness is already stated in most constitutions. However, constitutional provisions may not, in practice, suffice to effect the right to access information if specific support legislation does not exist. Additionally, the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 16 is to establish that public access to information is entitled the protection of fundamental freedoms, as a means to ensure accountable, inclusive and just institutions.