Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information

Executive Order 13642 of May 9, 2013

Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default
for Government Information

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. General Principles. Openness in government
strengthens our democracy, promotes the delivery of
efficient and effective services to the public, and
contributes to economic growth. As one vital benefit of
open government, making information resources easy to
find, accessible, and usable can fuel entrepreneurship,
innovation, and scientific discovery that improves
Americans' lives and contributes significantly to job
creation.

Decades ago, the U.S. Government made both weather data
and the Global Positioning System freely available.
Since that time, American entrepreneurs and innovators
have utilized these resources to create navigation
systems, weather newscasts and warning systems,
location-based applications, precision farming tools,
and much more, improving Americans' lives in countless
ways and leading to economic growth and job creation.
In recent years, thousands of Government data resources
across fields such as health and medicine, education,
energy, public safety, global development, and finance
have been posted in machine-readable form for free
public use on Data.gov. Entrepreneurs and innovators
have continued to develop a vast range of useful new
products and businesses using these public information
resources, creating good jobs in the process.

To promote continued job growth, Government efficiency,
and the social good that can be gained from opening
Government data to the public, the default state of new
and modernized Government information resources shall
be open and machine readable. Government information
shall be managed as an asset throughout its life cycle
to promote interoperability and openness, and, wherever
possible and legally permissible, to ensure that data
are released to the public in ways that make the data
easy to find, accessible, and usable. In making this
the new default state, executive departments and
agencies (agencies) shall ensure that they safeguard
individual privacy, confidentiality, and national
security.

Sec. 2. Open Data Policy. (a) The Director of the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation
with the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Chief
Technology Officer (CTO), and Administrator of the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA),
shall issue an Open Data Policy to advance the
management of Government information as an asset,
consistent with my memorandum of January 21, 2009
(Transparency and Open Government), OMB Memorandum M-
10-06 (Open Government Directive), OMB and National
Archives and Records Administration Memorandum M-12-18
(Managing Government Records Directive), the Office of
Science and Technology Policy Memorandum of February
22, 2013 (Increasing Access to the Results of Federally
Funded Scientific Research), and the CIO's strategy
entitled “Digital Government: Building a 21st Century
Platform to Better Serve the American People.” The
Open Data Policy shall be updated as needed.

    (b) Agencies shall implement the requirements of
the Open Data Policy and shall adhere to the deadlines
for specific actions specified therein. When
implementing the Open Data Policy, agencies shall
incorporate a full analysis of privacy,
confidentiality, and security risks into each stage

of the information lifecycle to identify information
that should not be released. These review processes
should be overseen by the senior agency official for
privacy. It is vital that agencies not release
information if doing so would violate any law or
policy, or jeopardize privacy, confidentiality, or
national security.

Sec. 3. Implementation of the Open Data Policy. To
facilitate effective Government-wide implementation of
the Open Data Policy, I direct the following:

    (a) Within 30 days of the issuance of the Open Data
Policy, the CIO and CTO shall publish an open online
repository of tools and best practices to assist
agencies in integrating the Open Data Policy into their
operations in furtherance of their missions. The CIO
and CTO shall regularly update this online repository
as needed to ensure it remains a resource to facilitate
the adoption of open data practices.
    (b) Within 90 days of the issuance of the Open Data
Policy, the Administrator for Federal Procurement
Policy, Controller of the Office of Federal Financial
Management, CIO, and Administrator of OIRA shall work
with the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, Chief
Financial Officers Council, Chief Information Officers
Council, and Federal Records Council to identify and
initiate implementation of measures to support the
integration of the Open Data Policy requirements into
Federal acquisition and grant-making processes. Such
efforts may include developing sample requirements
language, grant and contract language, and workforce
tools for agency acquisition, grant, and information
management and technology professionals.
    (c) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the
Chief Performance Officer (CPO) shall work with the
President's Management Council to establish a Cross-
Agency Priority (CAP) Goal to track implementation of
the Open Data Policy. The CPO shall work with agencies
to set incremental performance goals, ensuring they
have metrics and milestones in place to monitor
advancement toward the CAP Goal. Progress on these
goals shall be analyzed and reviewed by agency
leadership, pursuant to the GPRA Modernization Act of
2010 (Public Law 111-352).
    (d) Within 180 days of the date of this order,
agencies shall report progress on the implementation of
the CAP Goal to the CPO. Thereafter, agencies shall
report progress quarterly, and as appropriate.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the
head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary,
administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

    (d) Nothing in this order shall compel or authorize
the disclosure of privileged information, law
enforcement information, national security information,
personal information, or information the disclosure of
which is prohibited by law.
    (e) Independent agencies are requested to adhere to
this order.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    May 9, 2013.