WASHINGTON, February 10, 1999 — Yesterday, a group of civil liberties, academic, journalist and public interest organizations sent a letter to Representative Thomas Bliley, Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, expressing concern over proposals to limit the availability of public information about the potential for accidents at chemical plants (EPA's unclassified Worst Case Scenarios data) on the Internet.

This information has been readily available through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) providing citizens with critical insight to assess and improve the safety of their communities. As part of the Clean Air Act, the information was to be made more readily accessible. Under pressure from the FBI, Chairman Bliley and the chemical industry, the EPA has stepped back from its initial proposal to provide public access to the data through the agency's Web site. New proposals would limit the basic access to this public information. "Rather than taking advantage of the Internet's democratic potential to allow citizens the ability to access public information," Ari Schwartz, Policy Analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said "these proposals view the Internet and its power to distribute information as a threat."

The letter, signed by the American Association of Law Libraries, the American Civil Liberties Union, Association of Newspaper Editors, Center for Democracy and Technology, Electronic Frontier Foundation and OMB Watch, urged the Chairman not to retreat from the substantial gains made in ensuring that citizens have access to public information to monitor their government and its activities through the FOIA. Recent amendments to FOIA, EFOIA, encouraged and promulgated the use of communications technology to spread public information ensuring greater openness. "The United States is a democracy, and the Freedom of Information Act plays an essential role in guaranteeing that citizens gain access to information that empowers us to make educated choices, " Shari Steele, Director of Legal Services at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, explained. "Proposals like this one undermine the very core of our society and are a threat to the exercise of true liberty."

The groups' letter asked Bliley for more comprehensive hearings on the subject to include members of all interested communities. A legislative proposal is expected in the coming weeks. "This is just the beginning of a battle to protect the ability to access public information on the Internet," Schwartz said.

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