Senator expressed uneasiness about nuclear stockpile secrecy in 1949

A U.S. senator earned an entry in his FBI file in 1949 for making a speech calling for transparency about how many nuclear bombs we possessed and how many were in production. It was only on May 3 of this year that we learned the true size of our nuclear arsenal. -db
Secrecy News
Commentary
September 2, 2010
[...]

Gawker opens site to probe WikiLeaks

Citing Wikileaks secretive mode of operation, Gawker announced a new website, Wikileakileaks.org, to provide the public details of the organization’s operation. -db
ValleyWag
Commentary
August 31, 2010
Secret-sharing website Wikileaks.org’s tagline is “We open governments.” But the organization itself is about as open as North Korea. That’s why we’ve launched Wikileakileaks.org: your source for Wikileaks-related secrets, documents and rumors!
Wikileaks [...]

Wikileaks criticized for ‘clumsy disclosure’

Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News argues that WikiLeaks disclosure of the Afghan War Diary has had
the unfortunate consequence of increasing public support for the present system of document classification. -db
Secrecy News
Commentary
August 16, 2010
By Steven Aftergood
Unauthorized disclosures of classified information (“leaks”) often play an important role in the proper functioning of American democracy. They [...]

Federal judge orders Army to release information on effectiveness of body armor

Under the Freedom of Information Act, the Army must release information to a veteran studying the effectiveness of body armor in preventing wounds to the torso area or cite specific exemptions for withholding the information. -db
Courthouse News Service
August 16, 2010
By Joe Celentino
(CN) – A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ordered the Army’s medical [...]

Chemical security bills lack provisions for transparency

Two chemical facility security bills introduced in the U.S. senate are designed to reduce the consequences of accident or attack on chemical plants and drinking water facilities but fail to provide for accountability and transparency to ensure safety says OMB Watch. -db
Chemical security bills lack provisions for transparency
OMB Watch
Commentary
July 27, 2010
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has [...]

Wikileaks leaves whistle-blowers in the lurch

On June 12, Wikileaks’ submission page stopped working, so those wishing to submit documents are stymied. The outlet has not published a document in four months. -db

Wired
June 30, 2010
By Ryan Singel

Would-be whistle-blowers hoping to leak documents to Wikileaks face a potentially frustrating surprise. Wikileaks’ submission process, which had been degraded for months, completely collapsed more [...]

Adelanto: School board member alleges Brown Act violation

A member of the Adelanto School District board claims that the superintendent and board president committed the district to the second round of the Race to the Top program without public discussion. -db

Victor Valley Daily Press
June 14, 2010
By Natasha Lindstrom
ADELANTO, Calif. – A member of the Adelanto School District Board of Trustees is accusing [...]

Obama said to be tougher than Bush in prosecuting for leaks to the media

The Obama administration is vigorously investigating and prosecuting officials leaking information to the press including a veteran intelligence official who considers himself a loyal citizen and a whistle blower but now faces  federal charges for mishandling classified information. -db

The New York Times
June 11, 2010
By Scott Shane
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hired in 2001 by the National [...]

Army arrests intelligence analyst for feeding Wikileaks videos of attacks killing civilians

Army investigators have arrested a 22-year-old intelligence analyst based in Iraq for providing Wikileaks with classified combat video and thousands of classified State Department diplomatic cables. -db
Wired
June 6, 2010
By Kevin Poulsen and Kim Zetter

Federal officials have arrested an Army intelligence analyst who boasted of giving classified U.S. combat video and hundreds of thousands of [...]

Defense Department clarifies policy on opening fundamental research

To discourage endemic secrecy for military research, the Defense Department reaffirmed a Reagan administration policy that the products of fundamental research should be presumed open unless nation security required them to be classified. -db
Secrecy News
June 3, 2010
By Steven Aftergood

In a move that may help to discourage habitual secrecy in military-funded research, the Department of Defense [...]

Former FBI employee gets prison term for leaking classified document to blogger

A former FBI linguist was sentenced to twenty months in jail for leaking classified documents to an unidentified blogger. The linguist admitted using poor judgment but said he was not motivated by selfish interests but felt he acted in the best interests of the American people. -db

Secrecy News
May 25, 2010
By Steven Aftergood
Shamai Leibowitz, a former [...]

New study questions premise that government secrecy promotes better decision-making

A new report challenges the view that government deliberations must be private to achieve candor. The authors of the report say that secrecy actually discourages dissenters from voicing their concerns. -db

Secrecy News
May 20, 2010
By Steven Aftergood

When the Supreme Court ordered the Nixon White House to comply with a subpoena for the Watergate tapes in the [...]

Open government: Size of nuclear stockpile declassfied

For the first time since 1961, the federal government is releasing the number of nuclear weapons in the country’s arsenal. -db

Secrecy News
Federation of American Scientists
Commentary
May 3rd, 2010
By Steven Aftergood

In an historic step, the U.S. Government will formally reveal the number of nuclear weapons in the U.S. arsenal.

Until now, the shifting size of the nuclear arsenal [...]

Spying scandal: Suburban Philadelphia school district took thousands of webcam images of students

According to court filings, the Lower Merion School District used district-issued Macbooks to spy on its students, taking thousands of webcam images of students without their knowledge. -db
Wired
April 16, 2010
By David Kravets
A webcam spying scandal at a suburban Philadelphia school district is broadening, with lawyers claiming the district secretly snapped thousands of webcam images of [...]

CIA admits destroying tapes of abusive interrogations

The Central Intelligence Agency admitted that the agency’s top officials destroyed hundreds of tapes depicting abusive interrogations of suspects. -db
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
April 16,2010
By Miranda Fleschert
The Central Intelligence Agency released email messages on Thursday that reveal the former director of the agency approved of — and joked about — the decision [...]

Federal judge dismisses secrets privilege in ruling wiretapping of Islamic charity illegal

A federal judge ruled that the Bush administration’s wiretapping of an Islamic charity in Oregon was illegal and should have been subjected to independent court review. -db

Metropolitan News-Enterprise
April 1, 2010
From Staff and Wire Service Reports
In a repudiation of the Bush administration’s now-defunct Terrorist Surveillance Program, a federal judge ruled yesterday that government investigators illegally wiretapped [...]

California: Transparency issue surfaces over Palin’s speaking fee at state university

A California state senator is protesting the lack of disclosure over former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s speaking fee at California State University Stanislaus in June. Her fee will be paid by a public university foundation that raises money to support education at the campus. -db
San Francisco Chronicle
March 30, 2010
By Nanette Asimov
Sarah Palin is expected to [...]

Secret report says Wikileaks a security threat to army

A classified intelligence report published on Wikileaks calls the site a “threat to the U.S. Army” and says it publishes information gained from leakers in the Defense Department or government that could be used to target military personnel. The report recommends identifying the leakers to end the threat to U.S. forces. -db
Wired
March 15, 2010
By David [...]

Federal archivist calls for reform on declassification policy and procedure

According to Michael J. Kurtz, Assistant Archivist at the National Archives, the backlog of records awaiting declassification will continue to grow until classification policies are changed. -db
Secrecy News
American Federation of Scientists
Opinion
February 22, 2010
By Steven Aftergood

Executive branch agencies have spent more than a billion dollars on declassification of government records in recent years, but [...]

FBI agent fired after sending unclassified documents to pro-Israel lobby

A Jewish-American FBI agent is suing for the right to defend himself against unspecified charges that resulted in his termination and the revocation of his security clearance. The agent had sent unclassified articles by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service and unclassified State Department documents to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. -DB

Secrecy News
Federation of American [...]

Domestic partnership law: Supreme Court takes case on privacy for petition signers

The Supreme Court agreed last week to consider whether the First Amendment guarantees the right of privacy to those signing ballot-initiative petitions. -DB

The New York Times
January 16, 2010
By Adam Liptak
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide whether the First Amendment requires that the names of people who sign ballot-initiative petitions be [...]

Judge grants limited press access to jury selection in key Kansas murder trial

The Associated Press and other media outlets gained a partial victory in contesting a judge’s decision to close jury selection for the trial of a man who allegedly murdered a late-term abortion provider in Kansas. The Kansas Supreme Court asked the judge to reconsider his decision and in a subsequent ruling granted courtroom access only after the [...]

Federal Reserve strives to avoid disclosure on bailouts

The Federal Reserve is gearing up for two legal battles over suits seeking documents relating to the $2 trillion loan program to keep banks from collapsing in 2008. -DB
Daily Finance
Commentary
January 11, 2010
By Lita Epstein

The Federal Reserve is trying to ensure that what happens at the Fed, stays at the Fed.

In the first of two brewing [...]

Congressional leaders want secrecy for health care talks

Democratic leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi oppose allowing C-SPAN to televise the health care negotiations ending Obama’s efforts to include the public in the endgame talks. -DB

The Heartland Institute
Commentar
January 11, 2010
By Ben Domenech
As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi work behind closed doors to mash together 4,765 pages to form [...]

Editorial: Public has right to access police disciplinary hearings

A San Francisco Chronicle editorial argues that as a matter of great public concern, police misconduct hearings should be open. Maintaining secrecy erodes public trust of the police. -DB

San Francisco Chronicle
Editorial
January 11, 2010

Our system of government is based on the idea that an open government is a smarter, safer and more effective government. That’s why [...]

Federal court upholds secrecy on surveillance records

A federal appeals court ruled that the government could refuse to confirm or deny the existence of electronic surveillance records as an exception under the Freedom of Information Act. Former Guantanamo Bay detainees had requested records of the warrantless surveillance. -DB

JURIST
January 01, 2010
By Christian Ehret
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official [...]

President issues declassification order curbing secrecy

President Barack Obama issued a long anticipated order on declassification with the statement that no information should remain classified indefinitely. He eliminated a Bush order that allowed the intelligence community a veto over declassification decisions. -DB
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
December 30, 2009
By Amanda Becker
President Obama on Monday issued an anticipated declassification order and [...]

Federal judge orders release of government evidence pertaining to ‘no-fly list’

A federal judge in San Francisco ordered the Transportation Security Administration to disclose evidence showing that a Malaysian Muslim studying at Stanford University belonged on the federal government’s no-fly list. She was denied entry to the U.S. and lost her student visa. -DB

Courthouse News Service
December 21, 2009
By Annie Youderian

A federal judge in San Francisco ordered [...]

Government lawyer argues torture suit too sensitive for public court

Citing national security and state secrets, a Justice Department lawyer argued that the suit involving the CIA and a San Jose company over extraordinary rendition and torture of suspected terrorists cannot proceed in open court. -DB
San Francisco Chronicle
December 16, 2009
By Bob Egelko
SAN FRANCISCO — A lawsuit accusing a Bay Area flight-planning company of aiding [...]

CIA fears new open government initiative could allow anyone to glean classified information from unclassified documents

Faced with the new open government directive, the Central Intelligence Agency is trying to decide to release online declassified documents and noncopyrighted analyses of foreign news. They fear that information online could be extracted more easily and combined to reveal classified information. -DB
NextGov

December 11, 2009
By Alicia Sternstein
The release of the open government directive could change intelligence [...]

Government watchdog asks Senate to investigate use of ‘Secret Holds’

Citizens for Responsiblity and Ethics in Washington has asked the Senate ethics committee to look into the practice of stalling or halting laws or nominations without public announcement given a 2007 law barring the practice. -DB
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Press Release
December 2, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today [...]

ACLU argues hiding torture photos weakens democracy

ACLU Blog Manager Suzanne Ito says that in keeping the torture photos secret, the Obama administration is setting a dangerous precedent by preventing public scrutiny of government misconduct and stifling ideas that could make government operations more just and effective. -DB

American Civil Liberties Union
Opinion
December 1, 2009
By Suzanne Ito

Yesterday, the Supreme Court sent back to an [...]

U.S. translations of Jihad literature not made public

U.S. government intelligence agencies are translating Jihad literature but, claiming national security concerns, are not sharing it with the public. A window into the literature opened recently when the DNI Open Source Center translated stories from an Indonesian Jihadist anthology. -DB
Secrecy News

Federation of American Scientists
Commentary
November 30, 2009
By Steven Aftergood

“The only ones who are spending the money and [...]

Supreme Court supports move to withhold photos of abused detainees

The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a decision of a federal appeals court to require the Pentagon to release photos of showing torture of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan. -DB

Jurist
November 30, 2009
By Jay Carmella

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated and remanded a decision  by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that required [...]

Obama administration working to derail declassification order

The Obama administration wants to delay an order to declassify historical records at least 25 years old to allow government agencies time to review the records. -DB
Secrecy News
Federation of American Scientists
Commentary
November 23, 2009
By Steven Aftergood

Development of a new executive order on classification of national security information is now proceeding at an accelerated pace in order to [...]

Foundation provides records of secret negotiations for telecom immunity in illegal government surveillance

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the Electronic Frontier Foundation obtained the records of secret negotiations between government agencies and Congress that provided immunity for telecoms cooperating with the government in warrantless surveillance of American citizens. -DB

Electronic Frontier Foundation
Press Release
November 12, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO – Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) posted thousands of pages of [...]

Government orders decade-high number of secrecy orders for new patents

The U.S. government has ordered 5,081 invention secrecy orders so far this year, according to stats released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office under a Freedom of Information Act request by Secrecy News. -DB

Secrecy News
Federation of American Scientists
October 22, 2009
By Steven Aftergood
The total number of invention secrecy orders that the U.S. government imposed on [...]

London: Barrage from Twitter, Goggle, Wikipedia forces disclosure of analysis of toxic dump in Ivory Coast

The New York Times
October 19, 2009
By Noam Cohen
A British court issued an injunction prohibiting the publication of an analysis of toxic waste dumped in the Ivory Coast by a contractor hired by Trifigura, a shipping company. Trafigura claimed the analysis confidential communication meant for their lawyers. But as one media law expert pointed out, any [...]

Federal judge rules some records of Guantanamo interrogations may be kept secret

A federal judge agreed with the government that the C.I.A. was within the law in classifying parts of Guantanamo detainee statements. The government had maintained that no violations of laws were being concealed and that the exemption to the Freedom of Information Act was necessary to protect intelligence sources and methods. -DB
Breaking News 24/7
October [...]

C.I.A. secrecy on Osward files fuels speculation

The C.I.A. released some documents about the connections between assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, a C.I.A. operative and anti- Castro Cubans under a Freedom of Information Act request but has refused to release other documents from the 1960s and 1970s  citing national security issues. -DB

The New York Times

October 16, 2009
By Scott Shane
WASHINGTON. D.C. — Is the [...]

Next Page »