Let's start by floating about some frequently used terms:

• Freedom of information
• Right to information
• Access to information
• Right to know

Is there any difference between them? And which is the right term?

In practical terms there is not a lot of difference between them. Most people use them interchangeably.

Freedom of information is a term that has been widely used in laws and international standards. It is the term used in the name of the United States Freedom of Information Act, which may account for its wide usage.

It is sometimes used to refer to the right of access to official information and sometimes used in a wider sense.

Some experts are critical of the term. One describes it as 'inaccurate and misleading'.

Right to information is a term coined by Indian activists to mean exactly the same thing. It now has much wider usage. They felt that 'freedom of information' suggested something too passive. Right to information meant that people were entitled to the information, not just free to receive it.

Access to information simply means public access to official information, and perhaps also to information held by some private bodies.

Many of the laws that have been introduced in the past 10 or 15 years use this phrase.

Right to know is more or less the same as 'right to information', but is perhaps a slightly more popular term.

There is no right or wrong term.