How to Govern Open Data? The politics of open data portals

Abstract

Using a comparative overview of the open data portals, this paper analyses the open data portals as a means of regulation of the released data . In a first part , it shows how legal , economic and technical mediations may interact to enable or restrain the re - ­‐uses of public data . The pluralism of ways to regulate data is pointed out . In a second part , it describes the relationships between governments and their constituents defined by the alignments of those mediations . It argues that three models of open data portals are emerging : the pipe model , the platform model and the multi - ­‐front approach model . 2 This paper presents a preliminary analysis of open data portals as instruments of regulation of public data . Drawing on the work that is very much in progress , this essay is quite fragmented . The ambition of the current paper is limited to testing its hypothesis and research questions .