Developers will have the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the newest addition to the We the People platform. In response to public demand for users to be able to submit signatures and petitions from other websites, the White House announced Monday it is developing a Write API.
The API will allow users to sign petitions via third-party platforms in addition to the We the People site.
Ezra Mechaber, associate director of online engagement for the Office of Digital Strategy at the White House, said in a Nov. 4 blog post the White House wants to give developers an early look at the platform in beta before released to the public. Participation in the beta will be limited as the system is built out.
“Building out the Write API will make We the People more accessible and open than ever before, and builds on the progress we made with the Read API we released this spring,” Mechaber said.
The purpose of the beta period is to test the We the People API’s write methods, identify bugs and other technical issues and allow users to submit signatures to the We the People platform without actually going to the whitehouse.gov site.
The We the People platform has attracted more than 10 million users and nearly 300,000 petitions so far.
