Luis F. Luna-Reyes, Djoko Sigit Sayogo, Jing Zhang, Theresa Pardo, Giri Kumar Tayi, Jana Hrdinova, and David Andersen

6th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV2012) , October 22-25, 2012,

Two important trends on openness are promoting improved accountability from government and private organizations. The case of private transparency finds its roots in consumer and other stakeholder movements. The open government movementin the US is looking for alternatives to “smart disclosure,” which implies providing consumers with better information to makebetter buying choices. We explore current knowledge on ethical consumption, as well as two influential technological tools to support consumer decisions. Our initial discussion suggests that the use of ontologies and data architectures, together with the appropriate policy environment and governance system, may solve some of the current problems identified.