Hi,
For a while I've been pursuing a test Freedom of Information request
designed to establish that a full electronic copy of a document is
requestable under the FOI Act.
The main idea is to get away from the horrible scanned printouts that so
many authorities use for releasing information, though also I expect
that complete copies may contain useful/interesting information about
history, authorship etc.
My request has now reached the stage of an ICO decision notice ruling
against me, and I will be appealing to the Information Tribunal[1]. I
have some experience of bringing Tribunal cases, but I'm keen to ensure
that this case is argued as thoroughly as possible as I'm aiming to set
a useful precedent[2].
I'm therefore looking for any suggestions or advice that anyone can
offer, in terms of arguments I can make, technical details that would
help my case, etc. Any counter-arguments to my position are also
welcome, if only so I can develop a response :-)
Depending on how I end up approaching the case and the nature of the
Commissioner's case in opposition, it might also be helpful to have an
expert witness to give technical evidence, though it's also possible
that I could do that myself.
The essence of my argument is that the raw bytes of a document, stored
on a computer disk, are information which is subject to disclosure in
the normal way; whereas the ICO claim that the raw bytes are just the
format of the document and aren't disclosable.
The history of the case is probably best summed up by the decision
notice itself:
http://www.comply-promptly.org.uk/raw-bytes/fs50448720.pdf
The entire WDTK thread with the request is here:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cookies_on_the_icos_site
The actual topic of the request isn't particularly important - I was
just piggybacking this idea on a request I wanted to make anyway (the
ICO is also the target of my request, as well as being the regulator
issuing the decision notice).
I'll need to submit my appeal by 28 days from today (i.e. very early
February), but I can develop my case in further submissions.
Cheers,
Ganesh
[1] Technically the "First-tier tribunal (Information Rights)"
[2] First-tier tribunal cases don't actually set binding precedents, but
it would certainly be persuasive, and the case could potentially end up
in the Upper Tribunal which does set such precedents.
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