Transparency and access to public sector information in Italy : a proper revolution

In 2006 the Italian Government adopted a Legislative Decree (No. 36/2006) to transpose Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information. The Directive 2003/98/EC represents, as a matter of fact, the starting point for the adoption of open data policies in many Member States, including Italy. In fact, while it merely aimed at providing a minimal harmonization and did not pose any obligation to allow re-use of documents, it de facto encouraged a broader availability of public sector information with the idea that such an extended availability would represent some sort of added value also for the public body itself, by promoting transparency and accountability. Following this open data policy trend, in 2009 and in 2013 the Italian Government adopted two important legislative decrees, aiming at implementing the principle of transparency in our national legal system, understood as a mere obligation to disclose a set of information. Transparency is thus ensured, at present, via publication of a large amount of information on Public Administration institutional websites. This idea of transparency raises at least two important issues. On the one hand, while transparency of the Public Administration is certainly an important issue for modern democracies, it still cannot be understood as a value in itself and its consistency with other founding values, such as privacy and data protection, has to be guaranteed at all times. On the other hand, if the ultimate reason for national transparency policies is to ensure accountability of the Public Administration, the extent to which transparency, understood as a mere open data policy, can actually deliver on its revolutionary potential has also to be called into question.