The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) just announced that all publications and supporting data stemming from federally-funded research must be soon also be made available to all, without an embargo period or cost. The Open Access movement has made a lot of headway since Aaron Swartz‘s early activism, and since 2013 such publications had to be made freely available within a year of first publication. This new policy will eliminate the one year embargo. The accompanying memorandum points to how having immediate access to COVID-19 research greatly accelerated our progress against the disease, and that “the insights of new and cutting-edge research stemming from the support of federal agencies should be immediately available—not just in moments of crisis, but in every moment.”
Ars Technica has more background, and says the announcement came as something of a surprise.