Berners-Lee Demands Countries Deliver on Open Data Promises

by  Matt Warman,  Telegraph.co.uk

Just one in ten countries committed to opening their data to the public are delivering it, the inventor of the world wide web has said.

Speaking at the Open Data Institute, Sir Tim Berners-Lee called on world leaders to back talk on transparency and accountability with action, claiming that fighting poverty, accelerating industry and innovation, and reducing corruption can all be assisted through the release of publicly held data to the public and software developers.

“Governments and companies must not shy away from publishing contentious datasets if they contain information that could be used to dramatically improve people’s lives,” Berners-Lee says. The United Kingdom is the most advanced country when it comes to releasing data, with the United States, Sweden, New Zealand, and Denmark also in the top five, according to Berners-Lee’s new report.

The report says that 55 percent of countries surveyed have formal open data policies in place. However, the report also notes that when government datasets are released, they are often issued in inaccessible formats.

The study aims to encourage efforts that coax entrepreneurs, the public, and organizations to use data, rather than for governments to simply publish it. “The open data movement has made a promising start, but many Open Government Data initiatives are presently resting on shallow foundations, at risk of falling backwards if political will or pressure from campaigners subsides,” Berners-Lee warns.  Report