Carl Malamud of Public.Resource.Org discusses the benefits free access to information brings to society. In a presentation from Gov 2.0, he indicates how the internet wave has enabled the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to fulfill its mission to provide our financial markets with greater efficiency and transparency, by placing corporate filings of public companies on EDGAR, a public filings database successfully initiated by Malamud in the ‘80s.

Malamud points out that if government were to increasingly embrace a platform exposing information relating to law making and government function, whereby making the information open, public and accessible by internet, this type of innovation would not only help to make governments more efficient, but also create a wealth of business opportunities to drive our economy forward. Malamud reviews three propositions to illustrate how the promise of the internet wave can lead to more efficient government, more economic activity and better democracy.