Countering security-induced government non-responsiveness with nonprofit technology: Evidence from Hong Kong

Access to information (ATI) laws have now been widely adopted by a diverse array of countries and political systems. Yet, the effectiveness of such laws in ensuring that government agents respond appropriately to ATI requests is highly uneven. We contend that at least two factors matter for government responsiveness in this context—bureaucratic incentives and nonprofit technology. In the former case, government agencies often have incentives to be non-responsive to ATI requests when confronted, or empowered, by security concerns. On the other hand, nonprofits and nonprofit technology can offset such incentives, thereby improving responsiveness. We evaluate these contentions in relation to the Hong Kong government’s responsiveness to individual ATI requests. In doing so, we consider the countervailing effects of (i) Hong Kong’s National Security Law and (ii) the increasing role of nonprofit technology in Hong Kong’s ATI ecosystem. Our findings confirm our expectations and suggest that Hong Kong’s National Security Law worsened responsiveness to ATI requests whereas nonprofit technology’s growing role in this context improved responsiveness. On balance, the latter effect offsets the former, underscoring the critical role of nonprofit technology in safeguarding ATI against government backsliding.