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.

"Rethinking" the Bill of Rights? In Secret?

Recent revelations regarding the government's domestic spying are raising significant questions about the scope and breadth of the programs. Amid all of the questions, however, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: the government has been making significant decisions -- in secret -- about what is appropriate under our laws and Constitution.

06/11/2013

Time for Answers on Domestic Spying Program

The recent news that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) ordered Verizon to turn over to the National Security Agency the mass collection of telephone call logs generated by millions of Verizon customers likely comes as a shock for many Americans. While officials within all three branches of our government signed off on or were briefed on the program, the public has been left completely in the dark about the scope and the extent of the government’s domestic spying.

06/06/2013

An Additional Question about Openness and Accountability for Eric Holder

It appears that soon some news agencies will have an opportunity to hear from Attorney General Eric Holder about changes in the Department of Justice's guidelines for issuing a subpoena for phone records from news organization (though some news agencies will not attend because the meeting will be off the record).

05/30/2013

Hope for More Transparency on Drone Strikes, But the Law is Still Secret

In a speech at the National Defense University on Thursday, May 23rd, President Obama discussed Congressional oversight of targeted killing with drones and the declassification of the deaths of four U.S. citizens killed by drone strikes abroad, including Anwar Awlaki.

05/28/2013

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

Our Focus Issues

Reducing Secrecy