FragDenStaat

Description

FragDenStaat is the central German platform for freedom of information, describing itself as an independent non-governmental organisation rather than a public authority. It helps people submit official information requests to German public bodies under freedom-of-information laws. It also helps them publish the documents they receive, covering things like lobbyist emails, environmental reports, meeting minutes and calendar entries.

The project rests on four pillars: a request-making platform, participatory campaigns run with partner organisations, strategic litigation, and investigative journalistic research, working closely with journalists, activists and civil-society groups.

Since it began, more than 130,000 people have used FragDenStaat to file over 250,000 requests. It has brought more than 150 lawsuits against authorities that stonewalled or wrongly rejected requests, aiming to strengthen information rights in Germany and Europe.

Behind the project is a team of lawyers, journalists and developers, supported by volunteers. FragDenStaat is run as a project of Open Knowledge Foundation Deutschland e.V., a registered association based in Berlin. It is funded partly through donations, and publishes annual and transparency reports about its financing.

Its software is free and open source, released under the MIT licence and available on GitHub, including the German-language site theme and its API. It also offers a secure, confidential channel, including PGP-encrypted email, for people who want to pass it information.