Air Force Claims It’s Illegal for Families to Read WikiLeaks at Home

Air Force Claims It’s Illegal for Families to Read WikiLeaks at Home

The U.S. Air Force tried last week to make the case that its military and civilian personnel, as well as their family members, cannot legally access the classified documents published by WikiLeaks on home computers. To do so, stated a policy directive, would constitute a violation of the Espionage Act—a legal interpretation described as extreme by government anti-secrecy advocates.

Until now, most of the federal government has told government workers and military members to avoid reading the WikiLeaks documents obtained from the State Department, arguing that the information is still considered classified despite its publication on the Web.

But on February 3, the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base went a step further, claiming the leaked diplomatic cables were protected by the Espionage Act and that accessing them under any circumstances was against the law. Furthermore, the order stipulated: “If a family member of an Air Force employee accesses WikiLeaks on a home computer, the family member may be subject to prosecution for espionage under U.S. Code Title 18 Section 793.”

Steven Aftergood, who heads the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy, said the Air Force’s legal position was “breathtaking” and went “far beyond any previous reading of the espionage statutes.”

http://www.allgov.com/Controversies/ViewNews/Air_Force_Claims_Its_Illegal_for_Families_to_Read_WikiLeaks_at_Home_110209

Refusing the Feds access to his home without a warrant is one of the greatest expressions of the American defiance of abusive authority ever uttered. So is the right to access news media without government censorship.

May I suggest we all repeat it.

Now, let's work on developing those flame thrower eyes.

so is it the site they are banning - or the docs?

If I were to copy the docs and send them to the family of a military member, could they read them then? Sounds like they are just banning access to the site.

“If a family member of an Air Force employee accesses WikiLeaks on a home computer, the family member may be subject to prosecution for espionage under U.S. Code Title 18 Section 793.”



I was in the military for a long time - and at no time was my family brought into security matters. Holding a TS clearance, I was clearly not allowed to share - but if my family had access from other sources, I was not aware of any restrictions on what they could read.

I think they are on very very thin grounds here.

Except it was never that, at all.

those media sources are putting out a lot of information about what is in wikileaks..will they start jailing children for reading the NYT articles about wikileaks next?

How effed up is this?

I spent time around WP AFB because my husband taught a course there for awhile, even though he's Army, and all I can say is, I'm glad to be back around the Army, the AF is scary crazy with their lily-white KKK theme and religious fundie nut theme and just everything else.

and no more. This is America, we are the government, and you will comply!

It's scary business.

impacted my "extended" family (close but non-household) to the extent that all that was left was/is to talk about the weather....but then I'd have to do something awful.