A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires
transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, “sunlight is said
to be the best of disinfectants.” In our democracy, the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA), which encourages accountability through
transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound
national commitment to ensuring an open Government. At the
heart of that commitment is the idea that accountability is in
the interest of the Government and the citizenry alike.

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a
clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails.

This reverses the Bush administration’s assumption that information should be private unless it must be released:

Any discretionary decision … to disclose information protected under the FOIA should be made only after full and deliberate consideration of the institutional, commercial, and personal privacy interests that could be implicated by disclosure of the information.
(John Ashcroft, Attorney General, 2001-10-12)

The new policy is an important step in the long overdue return to government accountability.

Found through the EFF: On Day One, Obama Demands Open Government