SRRT (Social Responsibilities Round Table)

Resolution being considered at ALA Midwinter 2011

Resolution on WikiLeaks and Federal Agencies

WHEREAS,       On December 3, 2010, the United States Office of Management and Budget issued an order blocking access to WikiLeaks across all federal agency networks;

WHEREAS,       The Library of Congress blocked access to the WikiLeaks site from December 2 to December 7, 2010, across its computer systems, including those for use by patrons in its reading rooms;

WHEREAS,       The Library of Congress has issued memos to its employees and posted signs in its reading rooms concerning applicable law, but unblocked its public access computers;

WHEREAS,       The OMB order forbids federal employees access to WikiLeaks from their home computer systems and threatens punishment;

WHEREAS,       OMB explained its actions by stating that applicable law obligates federal agencies to protect classified information and that unauthorized disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents’ classified status or automatically result in declassification;

 WHEREAS,      On matters of vital public concern, citizens' fullest knowledge and discussion are in the interest of democracy, freedom, peace, rule of law, and good governance here and around the world;

WHEREAS,       Blocking access to published information is censorship, and supporting sanctions against reading is endorsing abridgment of intellectual freedom;

WHEREAS,       The open publication of documents by WikiLeaks and other agencies of the free press renders the government classification status of these documents irrelevant; and

WHEREAS,       The blocking of WikiLeaks curtails the public's right to know, violates the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and fundamentally contradicts the principles of intellectual freedom as embodied in the Library Bill of Rights; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the American Library Association (ALA)

1.         Calls for the amendment of Executive Order 13526, Classified National Security Information (December 29, 2009) to exclude publically available information;

2.         Calls for the amendment of any other executive orders, public laws, or federal regulations that forbid access to publically available information; and

3.         Calls for all US government agencies to follow the example of the Library of Congress concerning access to WikiLeaks.

Mover: Tiffani Connor, SRRT Councilor - trevellion70@yahoo.com

Seconder: Diedre Conkling, Councilor-at-Large - 541-961-3117

Sources:

1. OMB Memorandum: WikiLeaks - Mishandling of Classified Information. M 11-06, Nov. 28, 2010
   
   http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2011/m11-06.pdf

1. OMB's Model Memo To Federal Employees Banning Them From Wikileaks Site, No Date Given
   
   http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/documents/2010/12/ombs-model-memo-to-federal-employees-banning-them-from-wikileaks-site.php?page=1

1. Why the Library of Congress Is Blocking Wikileaks, Dec. 3, 2010
   http://blogs.loc.gov/loc/category/news/

1. Memo:  Library of Congress and Access to WikiLeaks Website, Dec. 21, 2010

On December 2, upon learning of the possibility that classified documents could be accessed on Library of Congress systems that are not authorized for classified information, the Library temporarily blocked access to the WikiLeaks website on Library premises.

The Library publicly announced this block, in response to news requests, on December 3, stating “The Library decided to block WikiLeaks because applicable law obligates federal agencies to protect classified information.  Unauthorized disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents’ classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.”

Since that time, the Library has reminded its employees and patrons of their responsibility to comply with laws regarding classified information, regardless of whether the information appears on WikiLeaks or another site, and has developed protocols to protect its systems: 

* A notice went out to all employees with security clearances on December 3.

* An LC Operations Announcement went out to all employees December 7.

* A notice is to be posted in all reading rooms, preferably at the point where researchers sign in.

With these protections in place, the Library unblocked the WikiLeaks website, beginning on December 7, and is not currently monitoring access to that site.

December 21, 2010