Freedom of information laws allow access by the general public to data held by national governments and, where applicable, by state and local governments. The emergence of freedom of information legislation was a response to increasing dissatisfaction with the secrecy surrounding government policy development and decision making. In recent years Access to Information Act has also been used. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions. Also variously referred to as open records, or sunshine laws, governments are typically bound by a duty to publish and promote openness. In many countries there are constitutional guarantees for the right of access to information, but these are usually unused if specific support legislation does not exist. Additionally, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 has a target to ensure public access to information and the protection of fundamental freedoms as a means to ensure accountable, inclusive and just institutions.
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporarily archived. Also, depending on the access level of a user or the forum set-up, a posted message might need to be approved by a moderator before it becomes publicly visible.
The Philippine Statistics Authority, abbreviated as PSA, is the central statistical authority of the Philippine government that collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes statistical information on economic, social, demographic, political affairs and general affairs of the people of the Philippines and enforces the civil registration functions in the country.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is an independent regulatory body of the South African government, established in 2000 by the ICASA Act to regulate both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the public interest.
The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000 is a comprehensive South African anti-discrimination law. It prohibits unfair discrimination by the government and by private organisations and individuals and forbids hate speech and harassment. The act specifically lists race, gender, sex, pregnancy, family responsibility or status, marital status, ethnic or social origin, HIV/AIDS status, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth as "prohibited grounds" for discrimination, but also contains criteria that courts may apply to determine which other characteristics are prohibited grounds. Employment discrimination is excluded from the ambit of the act because it is addressed by the Employment Equity Act, 1998. The act establishes the divisions of the High Court and designated Magistrates' Courts as "Equality Courts" to hear complaints of discrimination, hate speech and harassment.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994.
Chapter Nine Institutions refer to a group of organisations established in terms of Chapter 9 of the South African Constitution to guard democracy. The institutions are:
The Financial Services Board (FSB) was the government of South Africa's financial regulatory agency responsible for the non-banking financial services industry in South Africa from 1990 to 2018. It was an independent body which had a mandate to supervise and regulate the non-bank financial services industry in the public interest. This included the regulation of the biggest stock exchange in Africa the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. From 1 April 2018 the FSB was split into prudential and market conduct regulators.
The Ministry of Hotels and Tourism is a ministry in the Burmese government responsible for the country's tourism sector.
South Africa is a secular state, with freedom of religion enshrined in the Constitution.
The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), a public/private sector body headed by CEO Mrs. Sherin Francis, with Mrs. Kathleen Mason as Chairperson, oversees most aspects of Seychelles' tourism industry whose Minister is Mr. Didier Dogley. The Seychelles Tourism Board is responsible for the promotion and marketing of the Seychelles islands as the preferred tourist destination.
Institute for Democracy in South Africa v African National Congress is an important case in South African administrative and constitutional law, concerning the right of access to information. The applicants sought access to the donation records of certain political parties, but the latter were judged to be private bodies in relation to those records. Section 8(1) of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) recognises that a body may be "public" or "private" for the purposes of the Act depending on whether the record in question "relates to the exercise of a power or the performance of a function as a public body or as a private body."
Offering citizens access to state-held information is "one of the most effective ways of upholding the constitutional values of transparency, openness, participation and accountability." Currie and De Waal suggest that accountability is unattainable if the government has a monopoly on the information that informs its actions and decisions. Access to information is not only fundamental to a properly-functioning participatory democracy, it also increases public confidence in government and enhances its legitimacy. There are also, according to Cora Hoexter,
many other benefits to be had. For instance, access to information discourages corruption, arbitrariness and other improper governmental conduct. It facilitates the protection of rights, something that is easily demonstrated in the area of administrative justice. Like reasons for administrative action, access to state-held information can be of enormous assistance to a person who suspects that her rights to administrative justice have been infringed and is in the process of building a case.
The National Privacy Commission, or NPC, is an independent body created under Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, mandated to administer and implement the provisions of the Act, and to monitor and ensure compliance of the country with international standards set for data protection. It is attached to the Philippines' Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) for purposes of policy coordination, but remains independent in the performance of its functions. The Commission safeguards the fundamental human right of every individual to privacy, particularly Information privacy while ensuring the free flow of information for innovation, growth, and national development.
Information officer is the title of the role defined in South Africa's Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) to the person responsible for encouraging responsible persons to comply with the principles and conditions for the lawful processing of personal information and assisting data subjects make requests and lodge complaints. The title information officer is synonymous with that of data protection officer established in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The data protection officer is not the same as that of chief privacy officer in the United States.
The South African History Archive Trust, better known as SAHA, is an independent archive dedicated to documenting, supporting and promoting greater awareness of past and contemporary struggles for justice through archival practice, outreach, and the utilisation of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA). SAHA was founded in the 1980s as increasing state censorship in South Africa threatened to obscure the struggle against human rights violations and the oppressive political regime of apartheid. Since 2012 SAHA has been based at the Women's Gaol Museum, Constitution Hill where it took over responsibility for archiving the Constitution Hill Trust records in addition to its original collection.
Biowatch South Africa is a non-profit, environmental justice NGO which aims to achieve food sovereignty and food justice for smallholder farmers. Biowatch researches, monitors, and publicizes issues around GMOs, as well as promotes biological diversity, biosafety, food sovereignty, and social justice. Biowatch formed in 1997 and was officially established in 1999. The organization works with community members and the government to ensure the protection of farmer's rights, as well as the continuation of sustainable and ethical food production systems. Biowatch encourages the advance of agroecological practices, hoping to advance farmers abilities and freedom while simultaneously protecting the environment.
The Charities Regulator is the operational name of the Charities Regulatory Authority, the statutory authority responsible for the regulation of charities in Ireland. The organisation is made up of a board, with four sub-committees, and as of 2019, a staff of 38, including a chief executive.
The Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill (WEGE) aimed to promote equality between men and women in South Africa. The bill was passed in 2013, and allowed for the implementation of measures to increase equality, such as designing programs to ensure women held fifty percent representation in decision-making structures. The bill provides for both social and economic challenges to running for office, and makes provisions for enforcement. While the bill has faced some criticism that it offers nothing new to the nation, overall it was supported and passed through both houses of the national legislature, and went into effect in 2014.
The Protection of Personal Information Act (RSA) is a piece of legislation which governs the law of data protection and privacy in South Africa. The act was passed to regulate the right to privacy, as enshrined by section 14 of the Constitution of South Africa, and would work in conjunction with the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The President of South Africa assented to the Act on 19 November 2013. As part of the regulation a new government agency was created, the Information Regulator, an independent body which is empowered to monitor and enforce compliance of the PoPI Act within the public and private sector. The act came into force 1 July 2020, which commenced a one-year grace period during which all South African entities were expected to become compliant. The grace period ended 1 July 2021.
