There's also the issue of the data. It should always be accessible in a format that anyone is free to inter-operate with (E.G. no patent restrictions), and pre

There's also the issue of the data. It should always be accessible in a format that anyone is free to inter-operate with (E.G. no patent restrictions), and preferably in one or more protocols/apis/formats that fulfill this criteria. Critically it must be possible to utilize the data without proprietary products. Government records need to stand the test of time. Just like we can read ink on paper today, in the future preserved records need to remain readable. Libre formats ensure that there is a known, implementable solution. However they also make it more likely that someone will already have that solution.