The right to information includes the protection of journalistic sources.
The right to information is the power that all citizens have to access reliable data regarding events of public interest . This is the power of an individual to search, request and receive certain content that is preserved and administered by State agencies.
The right to information is considered to be one of the pillars of democracy . This prerogative, which is based on access to public records, is linked to freedom of expression and freedom of the press .
Its origin
The origin of the right to information is found in the first half of the 20th century . At the end of 1948 , the General Assembly of the United Nations ( UN ) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , whose article 19 revolves around the freedom to hold opinions and express oneself.
Specifically, this point refers to the right to "investigate and receive information and opinions." Thus it is considered something inherent to the human condition.
In any case, the evolution of the concept is complex. For various specialists, in the 19th century these ideas focused on freedom of the press: the freedom of those who owned a printing press and could publish newspapers or books. Then, at the beginning of the 20th century , the notion was expanded to include journalists, who were recognized for the importance of their work in seeking and transmitting information .
Continuing with this reasoning, only in 1948 , with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the right to information of all people was contemplated, regardless of their social condition, profession, gender, religion and any other factor. That is why there is also talk of a universal right to information .
It must be considered that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is, precisely, a declaration: it lacks the force of law. The effective implementation of this and the rest of the rights depends on each legislation.
The regulation of the media should not violate the right to information.
Characteristics of the right to information
The right to information includes obligations and powers for those who generate and transmit the information but also for those who receive it and reuse it . This double condition means that it is related to many other rights.
The informant, in this framework, has the right to investigate and disseminate opinions and information without censorship . Just as you have the right of access to sources, your confidentiality and professional secrecy are also recognized. The informed party, meanwhile, has the right to receive opinions and information, to choose by which means they are informed, to request that legal responsibilities be imposed and to give a response or demand a rectification.
If we focus on the activity of a government, it is considered that the right to information establishes a double governmental responsibility: authorities have to be proactive (they must disseminate essential data on all their activities) and, at the same time, reactive (they must respond to citizens' requests for information).
The organization Article 19 drafted a series of principles that, based on national and international legislation, collect the most convenient norms and practices linked to legislation on the right to information. Among these principles are maximum disclosure (it is presumed that all the information handled by public entities must be included in the scope of the right to information), the obligation to publish (public organizations must disclose documents of interest to the community), limiting the scope of exceptions (the refusal to disseminate must be based on possible concrete and substantial harm) and facilitating access (the procedures for requesting public information must be simple and fast), among others. .
The right to information requires media education.
Its importance
The right to information is very important in multiple aspects. It is considered to be a fundamental tool for government transparency : as we already indicated, all citizens must have access to reliable and reliable data on government management.
It can be said that the right to information encourages citizen participation . With open government and public information online, people can use information and communication technologies (ICT) to consult government records.
The right to information, for its part, is also essential in journalistic work. Whether for investigative journalism or even for so-called citizen journalism , having public information is essential for the development of reports and the publication of reports.
If the right to information is not respected, independent media are also at risk. The rulers could choose who they give the data to, benefiting pro-government journalists and harming those who are critics or opponents.
Examples of right to information
A journalist plans to present a television report on the trips his country's president makes abroad . Its objective is for the population to know the money that the State allocates to these trips. Appealing to the law of transparency and access to public information, it requests the Executive Branch to provide details of the amounts allocated to each trip. So, a few days after your request, you get the information and can move forward with your work.
A citizen, in the same way, exercises his right to know and asks the municipality or mayor of his city for an accounting regarding the organization of a marathon . His intention is to know how much the government spent on this activity, which, in his opinion, is not a priority when there is a lack of supplies and professionals in the local hospital.