Iceland Lets Facebook Fans Help Write New Constitution

The council drafting Iceland’s new constitution is out to bring new meaning to the term “by the people.” They’re essentially crowdsourcing the document, the Guardian reports, using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to solicit ideas and get feedback from citizens. “I believe this is the first time a constitution is being drafted basically on the Internet,” one council member said.

The current draft is updated every week online, with people welcome to comment either on the council’s website or on Facebook. “The public sees the constitution come into being before their eyes,” the council member says. The council started work based on a national forum held last year with 950 randomly selected people. They’re hoping to have a draft untouched by parliament put up for referendum in July. (More Iceland stories.)