90.6% of Americans Support Freedom of Information

By: Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project and Center for Public Interest Communications of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

Strong support, limited engagement. 90.6% of respondents said they support access to public information. At the same time, 91.9% have never filed an FOI request, and four out of five have never visited a website related to freedom of information. Only 5.9% said they know a lot about FOI or consider themselves experts.

Shared values across political lines. When participants rated a list of descriptors on how well each described the function of freedom of information, “right to know” scored highest across liberal, moderate, and conservative respondents alike.

Political ideology shaped emphasis, not core support.