The ODNI Open Source Center has imposed some rather ferocious controls on its unclassified products in order to shield them from public access.
Even when its publications are not copyrighted, they are to be “treated as copyrighted” and in any case they “must not be disseminated to the public.”
The following notice was recently posted on the password-protected OSC website:
“Content available via this website must not be disseminated to the public. All content available via this website is treated as copyrighted material and is provided for U.S. Government purposes only. Such purposes may include rebroadcast, redistribution, dissemination, copying, and hyper-linking provided it is for official U.S. Government purposes only. Any removal or redistribution of content outside of official U.S. Government channels requires the advance authorization of OSC. Information under the control of external websites to which OSC may provide hyperlinks may have separate restrictions and shall be accessed only in accordance with any usage policies and restrictions applicable to those sites.”
“Authorized system users may use the content available via this website to support official U.S. Government business and may disseminate this information to other U.S. Government components. In disseminating this content for other U.S Government component use, U.S. Government personnel must use a password-protected email system. System users who are partners (e.g. those who have a formal relationship with OSC), may also use the content, as authorized by OSC, to support their official business and must use a password-protected email system. Contractors with access to this site may only have that access during the time period as required to fulfill their contract responsibilities.”
Meanwhile, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has scheduled a conference on open source intelligence on September 11-12 in Washington, DC which will be open to the public (advance registration required).
When a hurricane hits, it’s all hands on deck – that goes for federal data, too. Pulling back from our investments in timely, accurate, and accessible public data will only make us less prepared and put us all at greater risk.
This is bigger than a singular elimination of race and ethnicity questions. It could accelerate the second wave of widespread reductions to demographic data, leaving public health officials with even less information to deliver better health outcomes for all Americans.
Soft law was never meant to be a permanent solution. Treating it as one, and letting the sandcastle stand in for the skyscraper indefinitely, is how we end up with a decade of voluntary commitments and no enforceable accountability to show for it.
FAS has partnered with ICLEI USA to launch the CRI Local Advisory Council.