Freedom of Information (FOI) laws aim to increase government transparency, yet existing assessments focus mainly on legal compliance and procedural outcomes, leaving organizational behavior underexamined. As FOI processes are increasingly mediated through digital information systems, public response data offer traces of how organizations handle requests and disclosures in practice. This paper develops and evaluates a pattern-based approach that uses such data to signal transparency-impeding behavior across government agencies and over time. Drawing on prior literature, we identify nine recurring behavioral patterns that undermine transparency. Using a dataset of 15,277 Dutch FOI dossiers comprising 139,449 documents, we operationalize and evaluate measurable indicators for six of these patterns, demonstrating that they enable systematic comparison of disclosure practices across agencies and over time. Expert interviews with researchers, journalists, and civil servants confirm the interpretability and practical usefulness of the indicators for investigative prioritization, comparative research, and transparency oversight.

翻译：信息自由法旨在提升政府透明度，然而现有评估主要聚焦于法律合规性和程序性成果，对组织行为的审视尚显不足。随着信息自由流程日益通过数字信息系统中介化，公众回应数据提供了组织在实践中如何处理请求与披露的痕迹。本文开发并评估了一种基于模式的方法，利用此类数据跨政府机构及时间维度揭示阻碍透明度的行为。基于既有文献，我们识别出九种反复出现、削弱透明度的行为模式。利用包含15,277份荷兰信息自由案卷（含139,449份文档）的数据集，我们操作化并评估了其中六种模式的可量化指标，证明其能实现跨机构及时间维度上披露实践的系统比较。通过对研究人员、记者及公务员的专家访谈，证实了这些指标的可解释性及在调查优先排序、比较研究与透明度监督中的实际效用。