Thoughts on Transparency…

On December 21, The Legal Theory Blog (highly recommended, by the way) addressed the issue of transparency, which is something we here at Ofcom Watch tend to promote in UK media and communications policy. I must say, Lawrence Solum covered this area in a more balanced fashion than I did. He observes:

Transparency in government comes at a price. Transparent processes may be inefficient–what can be done in private in minutes may take hours in public. Transparent processes may also distort decision-making, forcing political actors to pander to public opinion at the expense of good policy.

The case for transparency in government need not rest on consequences. It might also be argued that transparent government is required by the rights of citizens to meaningfully participate in democratic self-government. If public officials conduct business in private, then it becomes more difficult for citizens to make meaningful decisions at the ballot box.

I’m just not sure. I think our call for Ofcom to put into place a document management system will serve everyone’s interest and not impede good decision-making. Sure, there is some additional cost and delay involved, but Ofcom will be making very important decisions that affect millions of citizens and consumers — a little transparency will make its decisions sharper and less prone to attack.