Since 1 January 2006, the federal Freedom of Information Act has given everyone a right of access to the official information of federal authorities. Access comes through an application. The authority decides on it. Two states, Bavaria and Lower Saxony, have no freedom of information law of their own. In early July 2026 the coalition committee of the governing parties agreed to limit who may make a request under the federal act. Johannes Schätzl, the responsible member of parliament for the SPD, one of the governing parties, called the decision a de facto abolition of the law. As of late September 2026, the government had not yet presented a draft bill.