How We Got Here In signing Executive Order 13526 – the 10th Executive Order on National Security Classification signed since Roosevelt’s Order in 1940 – President Obama also stated that he looks forward to “…reviewing recommendations from the study that the National Security Advisor will undertake in cooperation with the Public Interest Declassification Board to … Continue reading Harry Cooper: “Transforming the National Security Classification Process: A Perspective On the Way Ahead”
In July 2009, The Constitution Project’s (TCP) bipartisan Liberty and Security Committee published a report entitled Reining in Excessive Secrecy: Recommendations for Reform of the Classification and Controlled Unclassified Information Systems. This report included fifteen specific recommendations to the Executive Branch and three specific recommendations for Congress, all designed to reform the classification regime. In … Continue reading Sharon Bradford Franklin and Alison Roach, The Constitution Project: “Reining in Excessive Secrecy: Recommendations for Reform of the Classification System”
The American Civil Liberties Union commends the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB) for recognizing the need to transform our broken national security classification system and for creating a public forum to solicit new and innovative ideas from the American people. The ACLU, a non-partisan organization dedicated to preserving the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and … Continue reading Mike German, American Civil Liberties Union: “Reducing Overclassification and Protecting the Public’s Right to Know”
The Public Interest Declassification Board has offered some excellent proposals to improve the broken security classification system. To reverse the disturbing trends of massive overclassification and decreasing openness, to put declassification activities on a firmer budgetary foundation, and to focus resources toward protecting true national security secrets, the National Security Archive proposes levying a classification … Continue reading Bill Burr and Nate Jones, National Security Archive: “Three Ideas for Transformation: Classification Tax, Equity Reform, and Sunshine Dates”
Background The creation of the National Declassification Center (NDC) by President Obama in December 2009 specifies the centralization and streamlining of all declassification processes with the objective of shortening the time to declassify a document. This enormous task mandates the use of the newest technology to assist with streamlining processes as well as creating consistent, … Continue reading Ann Levin, CACI: “Self-Declassifying Documents: A System for Letting the Data Identify When It is Ready for Declassification”
A “fundamental transformation” of the classification system, as proposed by President Obama, is long overdue. Experts of all political stripes have agreed for decades that overclassification is rampant and that it carries unacceptable costs—to national security, to representative democracy, and to the public fisc. The extent and persistence of the problem underscore the need for … Continue reading Elizabeth Goitein, Brennan Center for Justice: “Reducing Overclassification Through Accountability”
The Problem The current records management system does not ensure those records of historical significance are identified in such a way as to promote their timely review for declassification and public release. With greater reliance on digital records to decide policies and conduct missions, there is a great danger that, unless changes are made, our … Continue reading Stewardship of Our Classified History
The Problem Advances in the electronic environment have led to a pronounced increase in the amount of classified information being produced. Staggering volume and scarcity of resources make the eventual human review of these records for declassification impossible. Human review as it is done today is estimated at two full-time employees (FTEs) per gigabyte. At … Continue reading Using Technology to Improve Classification and Declassification
