ORCON creep : information sharing and the threat to government accountability
By: ROBERTS, Alasdair
.
Material type: 
ArticlePublisher: Orlando : Elsevier, 2004Government Information Quarterly 21, 3, p. 249-267Abstract: Many policymakers suggest that an effective response to terrorist threats will require more extensive sharing of information among government agencies. Traditionally, governments have insisted on applying the rule of originator control (ORCON) before they share information with other governments. The ORCON rule allows originating governments to retain control over the declassification of information (if it is classified) or its release to nongovernmental parties. The ORCON rule is being widely applied as the U.S. government responds to the terror attacks of September 11. However, the ORCON rule clashes with the principles underlying most right-to-information (RTI) laws and its extension could undermine governmental accountability. A better approach would allow for the structured decentralization of discretion about the public disclosure of shared information
Many policymakers suggest that an effective response to terrorist threats will require more extensive sharing of information among government agencies. Traditionally, governments have insisted on applying the rule of originator control (ORCON) before they share information with other governments. The ORCON rule allows originating governments to retain control over the declassification of information (if it is classified) or its release to nongovernmental parties. The ORCON rule is being widely applied as the U.S. government responds to the terror attacks of September 11. However, the ORCON rule clashes with the principles underlying most right-to-information (RTI) laws and its extension could undermine governmental accountability. A better approach would allow for the structured decentralization of discretion about the public disclosure of shared information
Click on an image to view it in the image viewer
There are no comments for this item.