A Washington Post article today notes an increase in the number of lawsuits filed under the Freedom of Information Act in 2009, and despite commitment to transparency from the Obama administration not much has changed since the Bush years.

“Despite the administration’s opening scores of documents, court dockets show a slight increase in the number of lawsuits — 319 — filed under the Freedom of Information Act since Obama was sworn into office last January. In the final two years of the Bush administration, by comparison, there were 278 records suits filed in 2007 and 298 in 2008. People seeking records can sue only after the government repeatedly rejects their requests, usually after months of attempts and appeals.”

The White House refutes these claims: “Contrary to the Post’s assertions, the amount of litigation is already declining.  The Department of Justice found that 22 fewer FOIA cases were filed in 2009 than 2008.  And agencies are making more voluntary releases of information.  The Department of Justice granted 13 percent more FOIA requests in part in 2009 than it did in the last year of the previous Administration, and granted 5 percent more in full than it did in the previous year.  Those are meaningful increases that illustrate the impact of the Administration’s FOIA policy.”

Both articles speak to the bigger challenge of changing practices when it comes to openness and transparency in government, and hopefully we’ll see more progress with time.