Does privatization of a public service mean that information is no longer a matter of public record?

Does data once publicly available become non-public with the move to privatization? A new lawsuit asks that salient question. The particular issue in this case is the privatization of public water resources, a move that many of the state’s local governments have made or are now considering. A request by public advocacy organization Food and Water Watch for information on water shutoffs in Camden County went unanswered by the County and its private operator. The organization contends that access to clean, affordable drinking water is a matter of public health such that the water shutoff records should be publicly available.

 

Taking Water Privatization to Court in Camden, New Jersey
by Food and Water Watch
June 14, 2018