The Information Commons: A Public Policy Report

Abstract

"For democracy to flourish, citizens need free and open access to ideas. In today's digital age, this means access to knowledge, information, and ideas online. A newly emerging concept, the information commons, offers hope of ensuring citizens' rights and responsibilities in the digital age. FEPP's project on the information commons, directed by our 2003-2004 senior research fellow, Nancy Kranich, will survey the diverse new initiatives that reflect the principles of a commons, will explore how the metaphor of the commons can reposition the public interest in information, and will illuminate the importance of the information commons to democracy and free expression."