We suppose someone in the “secret” subcommittee that we guess is going to be deciding the fate of Cayman’s Freedom of Information Law will say something like this over the coming weeks:
“One only need look at what has happened with WikiLeaks to see the dangers inherent in FOI.”
In attempts to head off this foolishness – since we haven’t been invited to participate in any hearings of this secret body – we would opine that the mass, indiscriminate release of government documents to all and sundry, documents that may have been obtained through suspect means, should not be equated to FOI or any open records process or law.  
It is, in fact, the direct opposite of what is supposed to occur under the FOI Law.
Most open records regimes create a set of legal steps whereby individuals can ask for records, government entities can either grant or refuse those requests, the people affected by the release of the information can have their say and there is an appeals process to make sure everything is done fairly. If the legal process is followed, there will be a fair and equitable solution. Everyone might not be pleased with the outcome, but no one can say they were not part of the process. Many pundits in the mass media have spent days giving their views on whether WikiLeaks’ actions in releasing various US diplomatic cables were good or bad, right or wrong. We will not seek to add to their views here.
What we would like to express is our fear that the latest WikiLeaks release will serve as an excuse for governments around the world to further restrict access to legitimate public information.
Indeed, we have seen from experience here in Cayman that the public sector often takes great umbrage when it is embarrassed by information revealed via FOI requests.
But embarrassment is not a reason to begin whittling away at democracy and the free press.