The regulation of diffusion of public sector information via electronic means: Lessons from the Spanish regulation Agustí Cerrillo-i-Martínez Administrative Law Professor, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain abstract article info Available online 26 January 2011 Keywords: Transparency Public sector information Internet e-government FOI Transparency is one of the main challenges for public administrations in the information society to bring the public administrations closer to citizens and finally, to improve their democratic legitimacy. The article focuses on new tools to regulate the diffusion of public sector information and it also contributes some elements which will improve it. This analysis will be done, firstly by examining the various regulations approved in Spain on the diffusion of public sector information through electronic means. In particular, the scope of the Spanish e-Government Act will be analyzed in relation to the diffusion of public sector information through electronic means. Finally, some landmarks will be proposed which can serve to guide the formulation of new regulations on the use of electronic means for diffusing public sector information not only by Spanish public authorities but also by other authorities who intend to pass a regulation in this field to improve transparency. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. The contribution of electronic means towards extending transparency in the information society Transparency is one of the main challenges for public administra- tions in the information society to bring the public administrations closer to citizens and finally, to improve their democratic legitimacy (Merloni, 2008, p. 12). In recent years, the functions and mechanisms used to channel transparency are being transformed by the wide- spread use of electronic means by both public administrations and society (Ackerman and Sandoval Ballesteros, 2006, p. 125; Cavaleri & Venturini, 2004, p. 11; Cerrillo i Martinez, 2005; Fung, Graham, & Weil, 2007, p. 25). These mechanisms are regulated by several tools that will be addressed in this article. The role of transparency in the relations among public adminis- trations and citizens has highly increased in the new public administration models which have arisen in the information society, characterized among other aspects by pluralism, complexity, and interdependence (Kooiman, 1993). These models are based on the collaboration between public administrations and citizens and on the configuration of networks in which public and private actors interact (Mayntz, 1998; Pierre, 2000). In this institutional framework, transparency becomes an essential principle in public decision making; the actors who participate in public policy networks will consider information as a resource which can be used to coordinate and improve their relationships. Transparency is a vital element of good governance; (Ackerman and Sandoval Ballesteros, 2006; European Commission, 2001; Frost, 2003, p. 89; Mock, 1999). However, despite the positive effects of transparency in the relations of both public administrations and citizens, it must not be forgotten that objections have been raised regarding transparency and noting the limitations of this principle that have given sociological, economical, political, or legal arguments against the spread of transparency (Prat, 2006, p. 101). Transparency is based on the public knowledge of public sector information. There have been many attempts to define transparency, in a broad sense, as a glass house (Rivero, 1989), that reveals what exists on the other side of public office doors (Cerrillo i Martínez, 1998). But in the end, transparency has an instrumental constitution (Carloni, 2008, 351) as it makes public sector information available to allow democratic control of public administrations (Merloni, 2008, p. 12); (Carloni, 2005, p. 600) and it not only implies that citizens can freely access public sector information but also that they are able to understand it and form their own view (Orofino, 2008, p. 211). Although transparency can improve with the diffusion of public sector information through electronic means which have spread in the last decade, the use of electronic means has not necessarily a direct effect in transparency. As Margetts notes, if certain circum- stances are not present, the use of electronic means can limit transparency. In particular, in order to enhance the impact of electronic means on increasing transparency, citizens must be digitally empowered, and the technological infrastructures must be able to deal with the needs which are generated (Margetts, 2006, p. 206; Zeno-Zencovich, 2006, p. 8). Transparency depends not only on the types of technology used or general access to technology, but also on the institutional, political, and organizational frameworks that Government Information Quarterly 28 (2011) 188–199 E-mail address: acerrillo@uoc.edu. 0740-624X/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.giq.2010.05.009 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Government Information Quarterly journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/govinf