The British Information Commissioner, who is overviewing the appropriate use of the British wob, is getting tough on those authorities, who do not grant access properly, according to the Open Secrets blog by Martin Rosenbaum at the BBC.

"It looks like the Information Commissioner is getting tough with those government departments with the worst records on handling freedom of information requests," Rosenbaum writes. "Having heavily criticised the National Offender Management Service last month, he has today condemned the Department of Health for its failure to assist FOI applicants and for extending the internal review process unreasonably."

This is particularly interesting to follow, as the British wob is so comparably young. It came into force in January 2005, while the EU introduced it's wob in December 2001 and Germany in January 2006.

Whereas British journalists have started using the wob all over the country, on European level and in Germany journalists seem more reluctant to use it - or at least the do not show off their work and method, as does for example the BBC and theGuardian.

Brigitte Alfter