FOI

FOI, or Freedom of Infomation, is generally recognised as a process through which the transparency and accountablity of Government and Private Bodies can be ensured through the release of certain documents upon request by a member of the public.

Underlying Concept

The underlying concept of FOI is that the process acts as an extension of the more general Freedom of Speech as while the Freedom of Speech protects the right of open and free expression, the Freedom of Infomation protects the right of citizens to the created infomation itself, whether created by citizens or the government.

More specific than this, within many governments Freedom of Infomation has taken the meaning of open transparency of Government Documents upon the request of citizens and interested parties.