The US government should not be permitted to classify information simply because it could be used to stir anti-American sentiment abroad, the Brennan Center for Justice and the Electronic Frontier Foundation argued in an amicus brief filed last week.
Allowing the US to classify information based on the argument that our enemies could use it as “anti-American propaganda” contradicts Executive Order 13526, which prohibits the classification of information to conceal misconduct or prevent embarrassment, and would create a limitless basis for future classification, the brief argues.
“The US has an overclassification problem,” said Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the BrennanCenter for Justice. “Too often, the system is used to conceal government misconduct, from illegal warrantless wiretapping to secret CIA torture programs. The government’s propaganda argument would legitimize this practice.”
“It’s vital that courts recognize that the government’s classification authority has limits,” said Mark Rumold, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Left unchecked, the ability to hide unflattering information or illegal conduct from the public threatens to undermine public debate and our democratic processes.”
The brief was filed in Jihad Dhiab, et al v. Barack Obama, et al, a case in which former Guantánamo Bay prisoner, Abu Wa’el Dhiab, sued the US to stop force-feedings. Evidence in the case included video recordings of the force-feedings, which were filed under seal because they were classified. Several press outlets intervened and requestedto see the videos, and the District Court judge ordered them unsealed. The government is now appealing that decision on the grounds that our enemies could use the videos to stoke resentment against the United States.
Read the brief here.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today during our fundraiser. We have 4 days to add 310 new monthly donors. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.