Does open data have an ideology?

Abstract

The initiative to open data from public administrations is apparently independent of the ideological bias of governments in democratic countries. However, this practice is justified differently depending on the country where it is developed, being in many cases just another piece of the economic system, fully compatible with the approaches of neoliberalism. Thus, information systems can be different depending on the approach of governments and their ideological foundations, and open data initiatives can be based both on liberal approaches to support businesses and in terms of social improvement actions. Although it is usually assumed that open data projects are apolitical, the truth is that the ideologies that justify them can be very different in relation to the economic returns or social benefits they produce. The question is to determine who are the final beneficiaries of the information they provide.