When working with Americans, expect that their default assumption is that information should be shared rather than withheld. The cultural baseline is openness; restriction requires justification. Americans often feel entitled to information affecting them and expect explanations when information is withheld.
This default shapes both formal structures—laws requiring disclosure, regulations mandating transparency—and informal expectations about how people should behave. If you are holding information that others might find relevant, Americans will generally expect you to share it unless you have good reason not to. The burden falls on those who would restrict information to justify the restriction.
When you withhold information without explanation, Americans may interpret the withholding as secretive, suspicious, or unfair. Transparency earns trust; unexplained concealment erodes it.
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