The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its National Broadband Plan, setting forth a strategy to expand access to broadband Internet services to millions of people. Chapter 15 of the broadband plan is specifically intended to make it easier for Americans to actively participate in civil society and hold their government accountable. Among its recommendations "to create an open and transparent government", the Plan calls for primary legal documents of the federal government to be free and accessible to the public on digital platforms; Government should make its processes more transparent and conducive to participation by the American people; and all data and information that the government treats as public should be available and easy to locate online in a machine-readable and otherwise accessible format in a timely manner. For data that are actionable or time-sensitive in nature, the Executive Branch should provide individuals a single Web interface to manage e-mail alerts and other electronic communications from the federal government. All responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by Executive Branch and independent agencies should be made available online at www.[agency].gov/foia. The Executive Branch should also revise its Data Quality Act guidence to encourage agencies to apply the Act more consistently and facilitate the re-publishing of government data. With Executive Summary, full report, and list of easily-accessible recommendations.
