The White House has ordered all federal offices to review the
content of their Websites for sensitive materials in the wake of
the 11 September terrorist attacks. However, critics believe the US
government is creating a new "blanket of secrecy".
Federal offices have until 19 June to review Website content for
"sensitive but not classified" materials and report back to the US
Office of Homeland Security, according to a White House memo.
White House spokesman Jimmy Orr said the material could include
anything that would threaten national defence or aid in the
construction of "weapons of mass destruction".
Orr would not give any specific examples, nor would he say whether
the public could access the information elsewhere, such as through
the Freedom of Information act.
Ari Schwartz, policy analyst for the Washington-based Center for
Democracy and Technology, believed the White House had created a
"huge blanket" that could be cast over any type of information that
the US government wanted to hide. Instead of making installations
such as dams and nuclear power plants more secure, the
administration is hiding information about these sites.
"They are blaming the messenger for the problems that are out
there," he said.
Before 11 September, President George Bush admitted that his
administration would not be as open as past presidencies, and he
has blocked information from the Reagan administration that would
have been made public this year.
Orr stressed that the review follows on from a policy created by
Bush's predecessor, Bill Clinton.