Right before the end of the year, on December 21, 2018, the U.S. Congress passed The Open, Public, Electronic, and Necessary Government Act (also known as the OPEN Government Data Act). This act is designed to break down information silos in the federal government, transforming previously inaccessible documents into open and usable data.
The OPEN Government Data Act has the potential to foster additional legislation supporting transparency and should encourage open data use across both the public and private sectors.
The act stipulates that many major federal agencies must ensure public data assets are “machine-readable” and published under an open license—free from usage restrictions. Impacted agencies are also responsible for actively promoting and encouraging the use and uptake of their open data.
Like all strong open data policies, the act acknowledges that open should be the default, with appropriate exceptions. According to the OPEN Government Data Act, agency heads may use established criteria to determine whether a particular asset should be made openly accessible, considering risks such as privacy and confidentiality. For instance, a data asset could remain restricted if it poses a privacy risk to an individual or contains confidential business information.
Implications for Federal Agencies
- Federal agencies must publish their data online.
- Data must be in a machine-readable format.
- Agencies are required to utilize open data to aid in decision-making or risk potential legal challenges.
- Agencies must develop and maintain a comprehensive data inventory.
- A “Federal data catalogue” will be established for all agencies to submit and publish public data assets or links to them.
- Ongoing oversight is required to ensure accountability.
- Data should be open by default, provided under an open license, with no restrictions on copying, publishing, distributing, transmitting, citing, or adapting.
- An online repository of tools, best practices, and schema standards will be developed to facilitate open data practices across the federal government.
The adoption of an “Open Government” model by the U.S. government—supporting open data, open licensing, machine readability, and open formats—is an important step forward. The OPEN Government Data Act is part of the broader H.R.4174 Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2017 and is now on its way to the President for signature.
