Open Government

Chapter 33. Why Open Digital Standards Matter in Government

Marco Fioretti

Although we are rarely aware of the standards that are the foundation for our everyday activities, a host of such standards facilitate these activities and protect us from dangerous consequences.

Let’s start our look at standards with three little questions:

• How did standards enrich or limit President Barack Obama’s activities during his first day in office?

• How could standards have saved the twin children of movie actor Dennis Quaid from serious injury?

• Why is a lack of standards making it hard to repair the U.S. Navy’s much-heralded Nimitz nuclear aircraft carrier?

The answers will show why standards are relevant in many situations, and demonstrate the importance of the government using truly open standards in its digital media and processes.

Let’s start with Barack Obama. On his first day in office, he issued two memoranda, one about transparency and open government (see the Appendix A) and another about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Despite the historic importance of these documents, almost nobody would be able to answer a simple question: what brand and model of pen did the president use to sign those memoranda?

Of course, almost nobody knows the answer to this question because nobody cares or needs to care. This brings us to the two really important questions: what conditions make it irrelevant which pen the president uses? And crucially, what conditions could change the situation so that the tools ...