Earlier this year, I wrote about the budding momentum behind governments making their data more readily available to the public for reuse.  Open data initiatives have generated dozens of commercial and non-commercial websites that add value to the government data. Some make the data more understandable by using interactive maps to provide visuals about where activities are taking place (e.g. government stimulus spending).  Others make the data more accessible by offering services to customize or deliver government information (e.g. postal codes to allow public interest groups to launch advocacy campaigns).

The crucial aspect behind these initiatives is that the government makes the data available in open formats free from restrictive licences so companies and civil society groups can create innovative websites, tools, and online services.

My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that last week the global open data movement received a big boost in three countries that is sure to leave Canadians wondering why their government has been so slow to move on this issue.

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