Photographs courtesy of the National Archives The classification system was created seventy years ago in an era of paper and later copier paper. Secret information was meant to be shared sparingly and disseminated to only those few Federal Government officials with a “need to know.” With the end of the Cold War, the classification … Continue reading Recommendation 14: Using Technology to Modernize Classification and Declassification
Documents courtesy of the National Archives and the photograph is courtesy of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. It is time to allow certain types of historical nuclear information to be reviewed for declassification and public access. In the aftermath of World War II, the Government recognized the need to keep nuclear weapons information … Continue reading Recommendation 7: Implementing a Process for the Systematic Declassification Review of Formerly Restricted Data (FRD) Information
Photo courtesy of the National Reconnaissance Office Executive Order 13526, “Classified National Security Information” and its two predecessors established specific, time-based declassification requirements for all national security agencies. Despite these identical mandates, a Government-wide approach to declassification remains elusive. Separate agency declassification programs evolved into a segmented declassification system where each agency reviewed its information … Continue reading Recommendation 8: Strengthening the Authorities of the National Declassification Center (NDC)
“It is time to reexamine the long-standing tension between secrecy and openness, and develop a new way of thinking about government secrecy as we move into the next century.” -Report of the Commission on Protecting and Reducing Government Secrecy, 1997, Senate Document 105-2, Public Law 236. Document Courtesy of the National Security Agency … Continue reading Recommendations 2 and 3: A Two-tiered Classification System and the Use of Identifiable Levels of Protection to Define Classification Level
The Public Interest Declassification Board will host an open meeting on Thursday, December 6, 2012 to discuss its recommendations to the President on Transforming the Security Classification System. The full Report to the President will be published online on December 6th at http://www.archives.gov/declassification/pidb. The meeting will focus on the Board’s fourteen recommendations for transformation. The … Continue reading NEW ANNOUNCEMENT: The Public Interest Declassification Board Announces its December 6, 2012 Meeting
The Public Interest Declassification Board is pleased to announce the completion of its report, Transforming the Security Classification System. The President asked that we study the security classification system and make recommendations for its transformation to better meet the needs of users in the digital age. The report will be released to the public on … Continue reading The PIDB Announces the Upcoming Public Release of its Report to the President on Transforming the Security Classification System
Thank you for participating in the Transforming Classification Blog. The Blog is now closed for comments. The Board appreciates all of the comments and submissions that were received. We will continue to evaluate the comments and submissions you posted on the blog as we consider what changes to make on how best to transform the classification system in … Continue reading Thank You
I read the PIDB papers as well as the submissions from the seven commentators. Rather than comment through a blog on each of the proposals, I decided to summarize my reactions and raise a few additional issues. I am numbering the paragraphs to make it easier to see the separate topics. 1. In general, I … Continue reading Comments from Trudy Huskamp Peterson, Former Acting Archivist of the United States
On April 26th the Public Interest Declassification Board invited you to submit your ideas on transforming the national security classification system. The Board received the following papers. They appear in the order in which they were received: Steven Aftergood, Federation of American Scientists: "Set a Mandatory Performance Goal to Catalyze Transformation" Harry Cooper: "Transforming the … Continue reading The Public Weighs In
In order to induce a transformation of the national security classification system, the President should set a performance goal that will advance the desired transformation, and then mandate its achievement by executive branch agencies. Instead of trying to specify each and every one of the policy and procedural changes needed for an effective transformation, this … Continue reading Steven Aftergood, Federation of American Scientists: “Set a Mandatory Performance Goal to Catalyze Transformation”
