The Rocky Mountain Bank from Wyoming failed to convince a judge to close the courtroom to hear their case against a Gmail user who inadvertently received confidential bank information, according to a September 21 report by Thomas Claburn in Information Week. -DB
In a jolting decision, a federal judge has ruled that a court can determine that an individual has the right to know certain classified information even if the executive branch opposes revealing that information. -DB Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists September 8, 2009 By Steven Aftergood Ordinarily, decisions about granting security clearances and determining whether an individual has a “need to know” certain classified information are made by the executive branch. But a federal judge
To end four lawsuits by a watchdog group, the Obama White House has reversed a policy keeping visitor logs secret now allowing news organizations and others a chance to see who is influencing administration policy on vital issues. -DB USA TODAY September 4, 2009 By Richard Wolf WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration plans to change White House policy by releasing the names of thousands of visitors whose comings and goings traditionally are kept secret by
Secrecy News’ Steven Atergood says that the newly appointed Senior Director for Information Sharing Policy does not have a mandate for transparency. Rather, Aftergood asserts, “information sharing” does not include the public. -DB Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists Analysis August 17, 2009 By Steven Aftergood The Obama Administration is giving increased attention to the continuing post-9/11 challenge of information sharing, with a newly appointed White House Senior Director of Information Sharing Policy tasked to
The CIA has refused to release information from the President’s Daily Brief that was declassified for the prosecution of former vice presidential aide Scooter Libby in 2006. -DB Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists Commentary July 29, 2009 By Steven Aftergood Even though certain information concerning the President’s Daily Brief (PDB) was redacted and declassified for use in the prosecution of former vice presidential aide Scooter Libby in 2006, that same information is nonetheless “currently