The Pentagon is making it more difficult for the public to obtain unclassified information with a new policy imposing safeguard requirements on “prior designations indicating controlled access and dissemination (e.g., For Official Use Only, Sensitive But Unclassified, Limited Distribution, Proprietary, Originator Controlled, Law Enforcement Sensitive).” The policy also orders secrecy for any unclassified information not specifically approved for public release, in effect, making secrecy rather than openness the default mode for most unclassified information.
In Secrecy News, Steven Aftergood writes, “The net loss of public access to information in this case illustrates a new trend that is at odds with the Obama Administration’s declared policy. Although the President promised to create ‘an unprecedented level of openness in Government,’ in practice new barriers to access to unclassified information continue to arise.” -db
From a commentary in Secrecy News, July 11, 2011, by Steven Aftergood.