How Public Opinion Is Shaping Open Data in Washington, DC

When the District of Columbia first issued terms and conditions of use for its data, transparency advocates and civic hackers made their complaints known.

Among the concerned parties was Josh Tauberer, founder of bill-tracking website GovTrack.us, who questioned if he would need a lawyer to hack in D.C. Tauberer highlighted vague and questionable terms, including one stating that website users would not encourage others to engaged in any conduct that would give rise to civil liability.

Going forward, district officials want to use public feedback to proactively shape open government plans and improve current efforts. A 15-member advisory group that launched in late October will play a key role in fostering public participation in the open government process and ensuring more data sets are released while protecting those that have sharing restrictions. Continue>>>

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