FragDenStaat

In a democracy, it is necessary for citizens to be able to inform themselves freely about government actions. With the Freedom of Information Act, every person, regardless of age or origin, has the right to request documents from the authorities. The FragDenStaat online platform supports citizens in exercising their right to access information from German authorities. Citizens no longer have to work their way through the legal jungle of the federal states and the federal government to make a request. Questions and answers transparently appear online. The number of requests for information in Germany already doubled in the year this project was founded.

However, FragDenStaat is not just a piece of software. It aims to advance freedom of information in Germany. To this end, we are developing our own campaigns, undertaking our own research, developing a transparency ranking that compares freedom of information and transparency laws at federal and state level, and working on a referendum for a transparency law in Berlin together with other civil society partners.

Our campaigns have led, among other things, to the German parliament publishing thousands of expert opinions by the scientific service, and to draft laws from ministries with lobby statements being freely available.