Free our data Guardian Article

Posted by Tracey P. Lauriault-2 on Jun 09, 2006; 4:09pm
URL: http://civicaccess.416.s1.nabble.com/Free-our-data-Guardian-Article-tp671.html

Make it work for us, Ms Tullo
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1792110,00.html
 
Easing crown copyright would allow the public to use government data freely, but some officials want the information traded

Heather Brooke
Thursday June 8, 2006
The Guardian

It may be a modern version of squaring the circle. According to the director of the Office of Public Sector Information (Opsi), Carol Tullo, it is feasible to open up the government's stores of data, uphold copyright and charge the public for official information. Speaking recently at a conference of freedom of information officers from government, she said: "Why should we be gatekeepers? We have enough to do in our day jobs than to worry about what the local economy may find interesting."The default position of government should be to trade in information, Tullo said, adding that transparency and openness benefits government in many ways. She cited the non-political website TheyWorkForYou.com - which.......