Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition (MITECO) – Court Ruling (Spain, 2025)

BOSCO is a tool used by the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition (MITECO). Electricity companies use BOSCO to automatically check whether vulnerable consumers qualify for assistance for their electricity bill. In 2018 Fundación Ciudadana Civio (referred to as “Civio”, a nonprofit organisation) requested from MITECO access to technical documentation and source code in order to audit how automated decision-making took place. According to Civio, a significant number of people were denied access to this social bonus even if they seemed to meet the requirements. People also did not receive an explanation on why their request was denied. Civio filed a complaint with the Transparency and Good Government Council (CTBG), after not receiving a response from MITECO. The CTBG granted Civio access to technical specifications and test results, but denied access to the source code on intellectual property grounds. Under national law ([https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2013-12887#top the law on transparency, access to public information and good governance, or LTAIBG]), the right to access to public institutions may be limited if it harms professional secrecy and intellectual property. Civio appealed the decision to the Court of First Instance and High Court. Both courts denied access to the source code, on the grounds that it violated intellectual property rights. The right to access could also be limited in this case due to the security implications of disclosing the source code; according to the Court, the vulnerabilities found in the code could be used to access databases connected to BOSCO (such as those managed by the Tax Authority and Social Security). Civio appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. Civio argued that the courts had misinterpreted [https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2013-12887#a14 Article 14(1) LTAIBG] to completely limit the right to access; the courts did not consider that the limit must be necessary and proportionate, especially