Impacts of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Access to Information Laws in Brazil and in the World

Abstract

The worldwide health crisis declared in 2020 due to the new coronavirus, besides the serious social and economic consequences, has also impacted the way governments communicate with their citizens. Based on the most recent Right to Information Rating (RTI) study, which makes a global ranking of the Access to Information Laws in the world and includes the changes proposed by the countries during the sanitary emergency, the proposed changes are systematized, by country, and the types of changes and if the obligations of right to information were suspended. A comparative analysis of these changes is made and some documents from international organizations that reinforce the obligation of governments to provide and give access to information and the right of citizens to have access to information are presented. The fundamentals of Public Communication and the right to information assisted to understand the importance of Access to Information Laws during the pandemic. It is concluded that during the pandemic of the new coronavirus most of the countries mapped by the Right to Information Rating sought to change their Access to Information Laws, in particular the deadlines for responding to information demands.