what is automatic declassification

Executive Order 13526 . Over the decades, the U.S. government has generated almost unimaginably vast quantities of documents possibly in the hundreds of millions containing information that officials deemed too sensitive to be made public. "How Does the U.S. Government Declassify Top Secret Documents?" "If the president can secretly declassify anything in his head, how does the government know that anything is Top Secret?" WebDeclassification means the authorized change in the status of information from classified information to unclassified information. As the ultimate declassification authority, however, the president can decide to override any objections they raise. Requests for automatic declassification exemptions from elements of the Department of Defense (to include pertinent elements of the Intelligence community) should include a statement of support from the Secretary of Defense or his or her designee. "Under current policy, too much information is kept classified for too long without a valid national security justification. 1/1.1 Win-win, right? 79 FR 44095, July 30, 2014, unless otherwise noted. For example, in 2004, President George W. Bush himself declassified a portion of his presidential daily intelligence briefing from August 2001one month before the Sept. 11 terrorist attackslabeled: Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.. Are Pentagon-confirmed UFOs a National Security Threat? Under Executive Order 13526, documents also must be marked to indicate if the identity of a confidential human intelligence source would be revealed if the document is released, or if documents contain key design concepts of a weapon of mass destruction. Secretapplies to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to cause serious damage to national security. Each interior page containing classified information is marked top and bottom with the overall (i.e., highest) classification of the page. This is an automated process for An agency head, for example, can exempt a document from automatic classification for a range of reasons, including whether it might reveal information that would "impair the effectiveness of an intelligence method currently in use, available for use or under development" or harm relations between the U.S. and a foreign government. There are also procedures for the removal of classification markings on documents. President Barack Hussein Obama kept 33 million pages of documents, much of them classified. "If I declassify a fact the location that a special thing happened, or the person that did that special thing whatever that fact is, it can exist in many forms," he says. What are the processes on an automatic teller machine? The most recent order, issued by President Barack Obama on December 29, 2009, is Executive Order 13526, (E.O. Records exempted from automatic declassification at 50 years shall be automatically declassified on December 31 of a year that is no more than 75 years from the date of origin unless an agency head, within five years of that date, proposes to exempt specific information from declassification at 75 years and the proposal is formally approved by the Panel. Gulf of Tonkin: A Fake Attack Escalated the Vietnam War, 4. The 13 Adjudicative Guidelines for determining eligibility to perform sensitive duties: b. Pulping, pulverizing, chopping or shredding, are approved methods for destruction of classified material provided the equipment is of a type and model that has been specifically approved by the GSA or NSA for the destruction of the type of classified material concerned. If you would like to comment on the current content, please use the 'Content Feedback' button below for instructions on contacting the issuing agency. Under the order, information may not be designated as classified unless its disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause damage to national security. the development, production, or use of weapons of mass destruction. Another of the GMU panelists, John Fitzpatrick, the senior director for records access and information security management in the Obama administration, noted that declassification isn't about just documents, but the pieces of information that are being declassified. site when drafting amendatory language for Federal regulations: 2001.26 Automatic declassification exemption markings. Learn more. Except for when the exemption pertains to information that should clearly and demonstrably be expected to reveal the identity of a confidential human source, or a human intelligence source, or key design concepts of weapons of mass destruction, the revised Declassify On line shall also include the new date for declassification as approved by the Panel, not to exceed 50 years from the date of origin of the record. Information related to the design of nuclear weapons is protected separately under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. (b) Special media records. The information is then scheduled to be declassified on that date or when the event occurs. Equity refers to information: (1) Originally classified by or under the control of an agency; (2) In the possession of the receiving agency in the event of transfer of function; or WebAutomatic Declassification Executive Order (E.O.) Attorney General Merrick Garland indicated at the time that Trump was being investigated for potential violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice laws. The source document states: Derivative classification includes all of the following EXCEPT: Duplicating or reproducing existing classified information, such as photocopying a document. What is mandatory declassification review? Longley, Robert. Upon receipt of Panel approval, the agency may use either the 25X6 or 25X9 exemption markings, as appropriate, in the Declassify On followed by a date that has also been approved by the Panel. (e) Automatic declassification means the declassification of information based solely upon: (1) the occurrence of a specific date or event as determined by "If you're the president of the United States you can declassify just by saying 'It's declassified.' Automatic declassification is the declassification of information based upon the occurrence of a specific date or For the purposes of automatic declassification, integral file blocks shall contain only records dated within 10 years of the oldest record in the block. result, it may not include the most recent changes applied to the CFR. 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomena' Has Been Tracked by DOD, The U.S. Army Drew Up Plans for a Base on the Moon, The Kennedy Administration Considered Invading Cuba in 1962, Expecting Heavy Casualties, Gulf of Tonkin: A Fake Attack Escalated the Vietnam War, The U.S. Government Practices Surveillance of High-profile Americans, The CIA Used 'Enhanced Interrogation Techniques' on al-Qaida Detainees, 'Unidentified Aerial Phenomena' Has Been Tracked by DOD, declassified National Security Agency historical analysis, multiple "fast-moving flying objects" over Stalingrad in 1954. How can classified information be destroyed? Can you buy an automatic gun in Missouri? Organization and Purpose Your email address will not be published. What type of declassification process is a way for members of the public? What are the 3 levels of classified information? user convenience only and is not intended to alter agency intent In 2017, the most recent year for which statistics are available, federal agencies reviewed 83.8 million documents, of which 46 million slightly more than half were declassified. In manual document classification, users interpret the meaning of text, identify the relationships between concepts and categorize documents. The term includes Restricted Data, Formerly Restricted Data, and National Security Information. Whats The Difference Between Dutch And French Braids? Typically, presidents who want to declassify information direct their subordinates overseeing the department or agency with primary responsibility for the information to review the information to make some or all of it public. While Executive Order 13526 establishes procedures by which federal agencies may declassify information, the power of the president to do so is a very different legal issue.. Learn more. Declassification guides must include the exemption notification information detailed in paragraph (b) of this section, and be approved pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section. 13526 and further defines what the Executive Branch agencies must do to comply with E.O. Project Minaret, as the effort became known, expanded to include surveillance of more than 1,600 people, including civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Whitney Young, Muhammad Ali, Democratic U.S. It is not an official legal edition of the CFR. Top Secretapplies to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security. Executive Order 13526 The President is responsible for protecting records exempted from automatic declassification, and which have permanent historical value . In doing so, they are legally considered to be exercising the presidents power over such matters. SUMMARY: This proposed rule would update NARA regulations related to declassification of classified national security information in records transferred to NARA's legal custody. This information is classified by statute and excluded from the automatic declassification provisions of the current and previous executive orders. Mandatory Declassification review is a way for members of the public to request the review of specific classified information. Presidents have established and developed it through a series of executive orders dating to the era encompassing World War II and the early Cold War. Patrick J. Kiger 2012-2023 On Secret Hunt - All Rights Reserved This could not be timelier because we can no longer keep our heads above the tsunami of digitally created classified records.. "If they want to keep it classified, they have to have some very compelling reasons to do it.". Records exempted from automatic declassification at 75 years shall be automatically declassified on December 31 of the year that has been formally approved by the Panel. The records of each Presidential Administration will be treated as an integral file block and will be scanned for declassification review through the RAC Project. The Presidential Records Act of 1978 requires that all official documents and other material or information a president or a vice president may have generated or obtained while in office belong to the American people, and thus must go to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for retention and preservation. In 2020, the most recent year for which figures are available, agencies completed automatic declassification review of approximately 40 million pages of records by Dec. 31. (U) The CLASSIFICATION AUTHORITY BLOCK will identify the individual who created the document, the source of classification, and the declassification instructions. The lowest level, confidential, designates information that if released could damage U.S. national security. Which Mary Wiped Jesus Feet With Her Hair? WHAT IS AUTOMATIC DECLASSIFICATION? There are three primary ways by which classified information may be declassified: Automatic Declassification, Systematic Review, and Mandatory Review. Records that contain information, the release of which should clearly and demonstrably be expected to reveal the identity of a confidential human source or a human intelligence source, or key design concepts of weapons of mass destruction, are exempt from automatic declassification at 50 years. Choosing an item from If an original classification authority with jurisdiction over the information does not extend the date or event for declassification, the information is automatically declassified upon the occurrence of the date or event. Navigate by entering citations or phrases Sometimes documents are declassified and released with information still considered confidential, obscured or redacted.. As the result of the National Security Archive's efforts, the National Security Agency in 2013 declassified an historical document describing a "watch list" of prominent Americans critical of the Vietnam War, whose overseas communications were tapped by the government from 1967 to 1973. The creation of declassification guides to cite proposed or ISCAP-approved DHS exemptions shall be coordinated through and processed by the Office of the Chief Security Officer, Administrative Security Division. The legal basis for the classification system comes from the presidents constitutional authority as Commander in Chief of the U.S. military. Title 6 was last amended 3/31/2023. The controversy also put a spotlight on a mysterious process that many Americans may never have thought about. Classification markings provide information about special access, dissemination, or safeguarding requirements. The three primary methods used by the Federal Government to destroy classified documents are incineration, shredding or milling (dry process), and pulping (wet process). As a result, the historical record has gaps and blind spots, and public deliberation on current national security matters is impaired. Classified waste disposal requires destroying government documents to prevent release of their contents. "Declassified government documents are absolutely vital to our understanding of the history of U.S. national security policy," Jon DiCicco, professor of political science and international relations, Middle Tennessee State University, explains via email. The order also allows the departments of State, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, and Justice, along with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to designate special access programs, subsets of classified information that are more tightly controlled. Examples of exceptionally grave damage include "armed hostilities against the United States or its allies; disruption of foreign relations vitally affecting the national security; the compromise of vital defense plans or complex cryptologic and communications intelligence systems; the revelation of sensitive intelligence operations; and the disclosure of scientific or technical developments vital to national security.". As weve outlined previously, the president is the big chief when it comes to government classification. Which would be considered an automatic stabilizer quizlet? Web5 FAM 485 Automatic Declassification. (eg: Even Trump, who's claimed that he could declassify documents merely by thinking about it, followed this practice Jan. 19, 2021, when he issued a memorandum declassifying certain documents related to the FBI's investigation of links between his 2016 campaign and the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the election. Automatic declassification is the declassification of records of permanent historical value based upon the occurrence of a specific date or event as determined by the original classification authority or the expiration of a maximum time frame for the duration of classification established under the Order. Executive Order 13526 . 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel, Fundamental Classification Guidance Review, National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee, State, Local, Tribal, and Private Sector Policy Advisory Committee, Controlled Unclassified Information Office. or existing codification. Doing so, they suggest, would be in the collective best interest of a just society rather than the best interest of a society possibly acting unjustly, to protect its government or administrative officials from legitimate recourses consistent with a fair and just social contract. And, and so in order to obtain that trust, we need to be willing to kind of lift the skirt a little bit and show people what we're really up to.". George Washington labeled some information about negotiations with Indian tribes as "confidential communications" back in 1790. Web 7.28 Automatic declassification. Independent Executive Agencies of US Government, How to Pick the Right Gift for Your Mail Carrier. A rare instance in which Congress has tied a law to the classification system is Section 1924 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which makes the unauthorized retention or removal of classified material a crime, so prosecutors would have to show that the information remained technically classified as an element of proving that offense to a jury. The CIA Used 'Enhanced Interrogation Techniques' on al-Qaida Detainees, 6. military plans, weapons systems, or operations; foreign government information [i.e., information received from foreign governments, with an expectation of confidentiality; intelligence activities (including covert action), intelligence sources or methods, or cryptology; foreign relations or foreign activities of the United States, including confidential sources; scientific, technological, or economic matters relating to national security; United States Government programs for safeguarding nuclear materials or facilities; vulnerabilities or capabilities of systems, installations, infrastructures, projects, plans, or protection services relating to national security; or. Requests for automatic declassification exemptions from elements of the Department of Defense (to include pertinent elements of the Intelligence community) should include a statement of support from the Secretary of Defense or his or her designee. As outlined in the executive order, the president and certain other high-level executive and defense officials may designate officials as original classification authorities (OCAs). Presidents periodically issue executive orders that govern the classification and declassification of sensitive material. A 2009 executive order issued by then-President Barack Obama generally compels classified documents to be marked for automatic declassification 10 to 25 WebDeclassification is the process of ceasing a protective classification, often under the principle of freedom of information. "After a thorough review, the department has determined that the authorized release of these unclassified videos does not reveal any sensitive capabilities or systems, and does not impinge on any subsequent investigations of military air space incursions by unidentified aerial phenomena," DOD noted in a press release. The declassification of records is an important part of the archival process. ISOO reports a total of 2,116 SCGs in use by federal agencies, with DoD accounting for 74% of them, as of 2022. Back in 2011, for example, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) finally declassified what it said were the U.S. government's oldest classified documents, one of which had been secret since 1917. The executive order brought needed clarity by articulating more uniform rules for classification and declassification in place of what had, over many years, grown into a tangled mess. 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