New study calls on authorities to improve press freedom in the Baltics

Balticada Investigations Studio, with the support of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), has published a study ahead of International Civil Servants’ Day on 23 June based on a comparative analysis of fifteen disputes between journalists and civil servants in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

The study found that freedom of information in the Baltics suffers from significant shortcomings, despite their high ranking in the World Press Freedom Index. Private data, business secrets, and national security can all be legitimate reasons for the denial of access to information. But they are also being misused as an excuse for the unlawful blocking of freedom of information requests made by journalists. For example, informal decision-making and a lack of trust in the journalist’s intentions may lead data owners, including public institutions or state enterprises, to misinterpret the legitimate reasons for limiting access.

Research has also shown that a lack of resources and skills and resistance from officials leads journalists to give up challenging information bans. As a result, only a few experienced and determined reporters in the Baltic countries challenge the ban on information and defend the public interest.

One of the main recommendations for all three countries is to clarify the obligations of the different types of bodies which must provide information to the public: state-owned or partly state-owned enterprises, state-funded private foundations, and independent agencies. At the national level, the report suggests that Latvia and Lithuania should follow the example of Estonia in the design of problem-specific appeal procedures for Freedom of Information (FOI).