• How do government agencies decide what information to make public and how?
• How do they determine what information to include or exclude from their Web sites?
• How can they best use information technology to give people the information they need?
• How do they protect personal privacy and try to ensure personal and national security?

These questions were at the heart of a policy panel hosted by CTG in January at the State Capitol in Albany. The panel discussion, entitled "Information Access in an Electronic World," examined the difficult balance among competing information policy goals.

The policy panel encompassed a broad range of disciplines including government agencies, academic institutions, citizen-access groups, and IT and homeland security experts. Panelists included representatives from the New York State Department of Law, New York State Office for Technology, New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.