Information law - The commercial exploitation of private sector information in the European union

This article is based on a recent study funded through the e-Content programme of the EC's Directorate General of the Information Society and undertaken by a consortium of businessmen, consultants and academics led by Pira International. The study examines how commercial exploitation could help to maximize the value of public sector information to governments, citizens and businesses alike. It gives an update on both the EC and Member States governments' policy initiatives especially in terms of legislation on freedom of information and the means by which this is presented to citizens. There are descriptions of the many types of barrier present throughout the EU facing the would-be exploiter, and in addition the article looks at how things are done in the USA. What follows is a companion article to the reports produced for the study.