Freedom of Information Act a "Paradigm Shift" for Pröll

The State Secretary responsible for digitalization, Alexander Pröll (ÖVP), sees the Freedom of Information Act, which comes into effect on September 1, as a "paradigm shift": "The state is there for the people and not the other way around." While previously "everything was covered by official secrecy," in the future "nothing is covered, and there are certain exceptions where official secrecy still applies," Pröll said in Alpbach in an interview with the APA.

No Freedom of Information Commissioner

The introduction of a Freedom of Information Commissioner, whose absence was criticized by NGOs, is currently not being considered, "because it would again build up bureaucracy," said Pröll. "A negative example is the General Data Protection Regulation, which in my view has created an extreme amount of bureaucracy - of course with all legitimate interests, and data protection is important. But I believe one must simply be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater."

In response to criticism about the length of response times, the State Secretary stated that he prefers "having a longer deadline, and the information that is provided is also thoroughly checked and correct. Therefore, I believe it is neither too short nor too long."

Information Register with Potential

Pröll sees a lot of potential in the information register, where data covered by the proactive information obligation is to be made publicly accessible. "Data.gv.at can become the central innovation vehicle, where one can produce and develop creative digital solutions with data."

Already, there are nearly 800 applications based on anonymized data - such as a fuel price calculator. "My goal is that in a year at least double the number of creative applications are available and developed."

(APA/Red)

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