Open the Government, a nonpartisan coalition composed of civil society and government transparency focused organizations published its report, Accountability 2021 in December. The report highlighted several recommendations from the Public Interest Declassification Board’s (PIDB) most recent report to the President, A Vision for the Digital Age: Modernizing the U.S. National Security Classification and Declassification System. … Continue reading Public Interest Groups Publish Report on Government Transparency – Highlight Work and Recommendations of the Public Interest Declassification Board – Part One
Category: Declassification
New DNI Avril Haines Discusses Overclassification at Senate Confirmation Hearing
On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Avril Haines was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in an 84-10 vote, to serve as the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). On Tuesday, as President Biden's nominee to serve as the DNI, Ms. Haines discussed the challenges of overclassification at a public confirmation hearing of the Senate Select Committee on … Continue reading New DNI Avril Haines Discusses Overclassification at Senate Confirmation Hearing
PIDB Wants You to Shape Classification, Declassification and Information Security Reform
When President-Elect Joe Biden takes office at noon on January 20, 2021, Executive Order 13526 (E.O.) will be over 10 years old. The E.O. “prescribes a uniform system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information, including information relating to defense against transnational terrorism”— but a lot has changed over the past decade. Transnational terrorism … Continue reading PIDB Wants You to Shape Classification, Declassification and Information Security Reform
Four Archivist and Records Management Organizations Embrace Calls for Improving Declassification by PIDB
Recommendations on Federal Archives and Records Management Issues, a report submitted last Tuesday (December 1, 2020) to President-Elect Joe Biden by four leading professional organizations of archivists and records managers records managers, cite the call for Government-wide declassification reform presented in the 2020 report to the President of the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB). The … Continue reading Four Archivist and Records Management Organizations Embrace Calls for Improving Declassification by PIDB
Gen. Hyten Finds Over-classification of Space Information Undermines National Security, Promises Reform
Speaking at the Schriever Space Futures Forum on November 20, 2020, Gen. John Hyten, Vice Chairman of the Joint Staff, argued that the over-classification of space information by the Department of Defense (DOD) delays the appropriate information sharing required to partner with U.S. allies and industry, and to deter adversaries in space. At the recent … Continue reading Gen. Hyten Finds Over-classification of Space Information Undermines National Security, Promises Reform
SSCI Members Embrace Need for Declassification Reform, Discuss PIDB Recommendations at Senate Hearing
The Board would like to thank Acting Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL), Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA), and members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) for their invitation to testify yesterday (September 9, 2020) at the open hearing on “Declassification Policy and Prospects for Reform.” At the hearing, PIDB Member John Tierney responded … Continue reading SSCI Members Embrace Need for Declassification Reform, Discuss PIDB Recommendations at Senate Hearing
Confirmation Testimony of New U.S. Space Force Commander Reiterates Concerns about Over-classification in Space, Calls for Review
On his way to becoming the new Commander of the U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM), Lt. Gen. James Dickinson discussed the problem of over-classification in space operations at his confirmation hearing on July 28, 2020, before the Senate Armed Services Committee. In his testimony, Lt. Gen. Dickinson called for “a review of classification for collection data … Continue reading Confirmation Testimony of New U.S. Space Force Commander Reiterates Concerns about Over-classification in Space, Calls for Review
ODNI, NGA Officials Tout Modernization During the Current Pandemic
At an industry-sponsored webinar on Wednesday, August 12, officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and the National Geospatial Agency (NGA) discussed how during the current COVID-19 pandemic their agencies: “innovate and deploy new technologies and methodologies to drive digital transformation for efficiency and cost savings.” La’Naia Jones, acting Chief Information … Continue reading ODNI, NGA Officials Tout Modernization During the Current Pandemic
Forward Progress: Congress Requires DOD to Develop Machine Readable DD-214 Military Service Records by December 31, 2023
By requiring the Secretary of Defense to implement machine readable and electronically transferable DD-214s (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) by December 31, 2023, the Fiscal Year 2020 (FY 2020) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) supports digital transformation as recommended by the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB). The PIDB continues to recommend digital transformation … Continue reading Forward Progress: Congress Requires DOD to Develop Machine Readable DD-214 Military Service Records by December 31, 2023
FY2020 NDAA Requires Pentagon Report on Declassification Backlog
The Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requires the Secretary of Defense to submit an unclassified “report on reducing the backlog in legally required historical declassification obligations of the Department of Defense” to the Armed Services Committees of the House and the Senate (P.L. 116-92, Sec. 1759). The report is due to these … Continue reading FY2020 NDAA Requires Pentagon Report on Declassification Backlog