Today marks the 250th anniversary of the world’s first freedom of information law. In 1766 Sweden’s legislature enacted the Freedom of the Print Act which abolished censorship of books and newspapers and required government to provide public access to administrative and judiciary documents.
Information about the 1766 Act, including an English translation of the Act, is available the Swedish National Library’s website: https://frittord250.se/in-english/
Check out a few of the titles on FOI laws in Canada in UVic Libraries’ collection:
- Government information : the right to information and protection of privacy in Canada – Kris Klein and Denis Kratchanov. Call number: KE5325 K53 2009
- Access to information and social justice : critical research strategies for journalists, scholars, and activists – edited by Jamie Brownlee and Kevin Walby. Call number: JL86 S43A23
- National freedom of information audit – Fred Vallance-Jones, Emily Kitagawa. Online
- Striking the right balance for transparency : recommendations to modernize the Access to Information Act – Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada. Online
- Brokering access : power, politics, and freedom of information process in Canada – Edited by Mike Larsen and Kevin Walby. Call number: KE5325 B76 2012
- Fundamentals of privacy and freedom of information in Canada – Michel W. Drapeau, Marc-Aurèle Racicot. Call number: KE5325 D737 2010
- Access to information legislation in Canada and four other countries – Kristen Douglas. Online.