Majority of journalists dissatisfied with government's information access

A majority of journalists in the Netherlands are displeased with how the government provides access to information. This conclusion comes from the research institute Centerdata, after a survey of 256 journalists regarding their experiences with the Public Access to Government Information Act (Wet open overheid, or Woo). Of those surveyed, 57 percent expressed dissatisfaction, ranging from unsatisfied to very unsatisfied, concerning the government's cooperation in accessing public information.

A common complaint is the prolonged duration it takes for an information request to be processed. For over half of the requests submitted by the surveyed journalists, the legal processing period elapsed without establishing a new timeframe. A majority of the journalists assumed that these delays were politically motivated and therefore intentional.

When an information request was ultimately denied, the vast majority of the journalists were informed that "exceptional grounds" were the reason for the refusal. In such instances, parts of the information would be redacted or a document could be completely withheld.

The study was commissioned by the Advisory Board for Public Access and Information Management (Adviescollege Openbaarheid en Informatiehuishouding, or ACOI). The aim of the law is to make the government more transparent and to enhance the accessibility of governmental information.

The law was enacted in May 2022, succeeding the Public Administration Transparency Act (Wet openbaarheid van bestuur, or Wob). The principal distinction between the two laws is that under the Woo, the government must also proactively disclose information.