but the trend is just the opposite... ...towards disclosure! Bush's Secrecy Mania Imagine all the materials relating to cyber security that have been obtained by groups such as EPIC over the last 10 years that the government would have loved to have hidden: the Clipper Chip, Digital Signature Standard, the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), Carnivore, FIDNet, and Echelon. FOIA was used to reveal how these systems worked, and allowed for better informed public debate on them. Would we really be better off if none of these documents had been released? It's no surprise why Bush announced in October that he supports more FOIA exemptions. It fits in well with the general campaign by the Administration to gut access to information, especially post September 11. Thus far, Attorney General Ashcroft has issued a directive on FOIA calling on agencies eliminate the old presumption in favor of releasing information; Bush has turned the President Records Act on its head to prevent Reagan Administration files (such as his father's) from being released; and Bush hid his own governor's records at his father's Presidential library to prevent access. We can also expect the return of the Official Secrets Act bill that Clinton vetoed. Reject the Corporate Secrecy Grab BUSH'S INFORMATION POLICIES POST SEPT. 11/01 Former Secrets -- DocumentsReleased Under the FOIA New Law Could Jail Whistleblowers (2000) secrets1 secrets2 privacy.org
