Reducing Secrecy

Excessive secrecy has long been a problem in the fields of national and homeland security because it limits information sharing and leaves us less safe as a nation. Both the 9/11 Commission and the congressional Joint Inquiry into 9/11 recommended reforms to reduce unnecessary secrets. OpenTheGovernment.org works with our partners, the Administration, and Congress to put policies in place that both protect constitutional rights and ensure national security by better protecting real secrets and improving information sharing.

Groups Carry on Fight Against Secret Law

OpenTheGovernment.org and several of our partners recently joined the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) on an amicus brief in support of The New York Times' suit challenging the government's decision to deny access to Department of Justice's Of

04/30/2013

Openness Groups Call for Classification Reform Leadership

Thirty groups, including OpenTheGovernment.org, joined the Brennan Center for Justice in a letter calling for the White House to take the lead in security classification reform. The openness organizations called for the prompt establishment of a steering committee including White House Leadership to address overclassification.

04/30/2013

A Deep Dive in the US' National Action Plan: Declassify National Security Information

In our final evaluation of the government's efforts to meet the open government commitments it included in the 2011 US National Action Plan, we characterized many of the steps the government promised to take as "small." Rather than taking bold measures to address pressing transparency issues, the Plan includes to make commitments that were less ambitious and more easily attained. The Administration's commitment related to declassification of historical documents is more accurately described as something less than a small step, however: the commitment -- to set up the National Declassification Center -- was something that the government had already completed well in advance of the release of the Plan. President Obama's Executive Order on Classified National Security Information, EO 13526, required the creation of the NDC at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Center began operations in January 2010.

04/25/2013

Secrecy Check: Security Clearance Numbers Appear to Grow; Exact Number Still Murky

For the past three years, one aspect of the growth of the classified universe has been indicated by the number of security clearances. On October 1, 2012 personnel deemed eligible for clearance numbered 4,917,751, a 1.1 percent growth from the year before. Of course, these numbers do not tell the whole story. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is required to report on the number of personnel “deemed eligible” for clearance, not the number of personnel granted access to classified information. Employees are given access on a “need to know” basis. Apparently, ODNI does not think the public needs to know that information. We disagree: an increase in clearances means more individuals who could derivatively classify documents, funneling more classified documents into an already overloaded and broken declassification system.

04/16/2013

A 100 Day Agenda for Open Government?

In February our Executive Director took to the pages of The Hill to challenge President Obama to recommit to creating an "unprecedented level of openness in Government" during his second term. She outlined a 100-day agenda to put the US on the path to accomplishing this goal. With more than half of the 100 days gone, we thought it would be an appropriate time to look at what the government has made progress on, and what issues remain to be tackled.

04/05/2013

Groups File Brief Fighting Secret Law

OpenTheGovernment.org and several other partners joined Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) in a brief supporting the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s fight against the Department of Justice’s insistence that OLC Opinions must be kept secret under FOIA. In EFF v. the United States Department of Justice, EFF challenges the withholding of OLC opinions and partial reliance on Exemption 5 and its protection for material that falls within the deliberative process and attorney client privileges.

04/02/2013

Leaked White Paper Re-opens Debate on Drone Attacks on Citizens; We Still Want the OLC Memos

Whoever provided the Department of Justice white paper to NBC, thank you. Due in part to your decision to share information about the Administration’s controversial policy on the targeted killing of American citizens, the issue is back on the front pages and is a topic of discussion in the halls of Congress and at dinner tables. Additionally, your actions are another reminder about how much we do not know, and why the government must release its legal justifications for the program.

02/06/2013

Signing Statement on Defense Authorization Bill a Bad Sign for Transparency?

In a signing statement accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act, President Obama wrote that the provision "could be interpreted in a manner that would interfere with my authority to manage and direct executive branch officials." Troublingly, the statement said furthe

01/08/2013

112th Congress Goes Out with a Bang -- and a Boo

On its way out the door, the 112th Congress took action on a number of pending controversial secrecy bills -- making last minute improvements to annual authorization bills in order to protect the public's ability to get information, expanding contractor whistleblower rights, but also opting to maintain the secrecy surrounding the government's wireless wiretapping program.<

01/08/2013

Our Focus Issues

Reducing Secrecy