• A Welcome
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Child Abuse Inquiry Library
  • GSW
  • In Dad’s Shoes
    • An Overview
    • Invitation
    • Media
    • Photos
    • Press Release
    • Soft Launch
    • Speeches
    • Summary
  • Media Coverage
  • Parliamentary Debates

Researching Reform

Researching Reform

Daily Archives: August 31, 2015

Question It!

31 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by Natasha in Question It

≈ 6 Comments

Hello, and welcome to another week.

Freedom of Information requests have become incredibly popular since the service’s inception in 2005, as more and more people use these requests to hold the government to account over suspected failings within public service. But a new type of request is becoming popular – those requests made by corporations to elicit information about their target markets.

In a very interesting news item over at one of our favourite online journals The Conversation, one Research Team describe their two year fight to protect their research on the smoking habits of teenagers from tobacco giant Philip Morris – who made a Freedom of Information request for the data, so they could access it. Legally, the company was allowed to access that information – but the media’s reporting of the request and public pressure eventually put an end to the request being pursued.

Philip Morris say they wanted the information to test whether or not the government’s claims about plain packaging of cigarettes has any merit. The public took the view the tobacco company wanted to be able to make a case against this type of packaging, so that they could continue to maximise their profitability.

However, not everyone thinks this new type of request should be blocked by social conscience. In this piece, the author suggests that legitimate FOI requests should not be blocked, even if we don’t like them, and even if they appear to be made with the intention of being used for nefarious purposes, or to embarrass the government.

FOI requests by their nature are open and transparent and whilst exceptions do exist as to what cannot be made public – as many who have tried to extract sensitive government data and failed, will know – this piece suggests that less transparency in the form of request blocking would simply drive big business underground and make it more secretive still.

Our question to you then, is just this: should we be looking at extending the restrictions for FOI requests, or does the answer lie elsewhere, in our laws and policy on smoking and child welfare generally, or is everything just fine as it is?

Philip-Morris-International

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • WhatsApp
  • Pocket
  • Telegram
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 7,055 other followers

Contact Researching Reform

Huff Post Contributer

For Litigants in Person

Child Welfare Debates

August 2015
M T W T F S S
« Jul   Sep »
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  

Children In The Vine : Stories From The Family Justice System

Categories

  • Adoption
  • All Party Parliamentary Group on Family Law and The Court of Protection
  • Articles
  • Big Data
  • Bills
  • Case Study
  • child abuse
  • child abuse inquiry
  • child welfare
  • Children
  • Children In The Vine
  • Circumcision
  • Civil Partnerships
  • Consultation
  • Conversations With…
  • Corporal Punishment
  • CSA
  • CSE
  • Data Pack
  • Domestic Violence
  • Encyclopaedia on Family and The Law
  • event
  • Family Law
  • Family Law Cases
  • FGM
  • FOI
  • forced adoption
  • Foster Care
  • Fudge of the Week
  • Fultemian Project
  • Huffington Post
  • Human Rights
  • IGM
  • Inquiry
  • Interesting Things
  • Interview
  • Judge of the Week
  • Judges
  • judicial bias
  • Law to lust for
  • legal aid
  • LexisNexis Family Law
  • LIP Service
  • LIPs
  • Marriage
  • McKenzie Friends
  • MGM
  • News
  • Notes
  • petition
  • Picture of the Month
  • Podcast
  • Question It
  • Random Review
  • Real Live Interviews
  • Research
  • Researching Reform
  • social services
  • social work
  • Spotlight
  • Stats
  • Terrorism
  • The Buzz
  • The Times
  • Troubled Families Programme
  • Twitter Conversations
  • Update
  • Vocie of the Child
  • Voice of the Child
  • Westminster Debate
  • Your Story

Recommended

  • Blawg Review
  • BlogCatalog
  • DaddyNatal
  • DadsHouse
  • Divorce Survivor
  • Enough Abuse UK
  • Family Law Week
  • Family Lore
  • Flawbord
  • GeekLawyer's Blog
  • Head of Legal
  • Just for Kids Law
  • Kensington Mums
  • Law Diva
  • Legal Aid Barristers
  • Lib Dem Lords
  • Lords of The Blog
  • Overlawyered
  • PAIN
  • Paul Bernal's Blog
  • Public Law Guide
  • Pupillage Blog
  • Real Lawyers Have Blogs
  • Story of Mum
  • Sue Atkins, BBC Parenting Coach
  • The Barrister Blog
  • The Magistrate's Blog
  • The Not So Big Society
  • Tracey McMahon
  • UK Freedom of Information Blog
  • WardBlawg

Archives

Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
%d bloggers like this: