Steven Aftergood
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Steven Aftergood is director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, and is an advocate for improving but not abolishing of the U.S. government classification system. He has obtained and published many government policies through the Freedom of Information Act process, and has testified before Congress and executive agencies such as the Information Security Oversight Office. Aftergood is a member of the advisory board of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. He has received the James Madison Award from the American Library Association (2006), the Public Access to Government Information Award from the American Association of Law Libraries (2006), and the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award from the Playboy Foundation (2004). WikileaksHe declined to join WikiLeaks. Aftergood, who has chosen to withhold or redact certain documents based on what he considers legitimate reasons of public safety, told Wikileaks "we do not favor automated or indiscriminate publication of confidential records. In the absence of accountable editorial oversight, publication can more easily become an act of aggression or an incitement to violence, not to mention an invasion of privacy or an offense against good taste." They replied, "So we disagree on first principles? No problem, replied Wikileaks: “Advisory positions are just that — advisory! If you want to advise us to censor, then by all means do so.”[1] Jay Lim of Wikileaks sent an email of complaint to Aftergood, which Aftergood published on his blog.
After the large disclosures in 2010, Aftergood questioned the purpose of Wikileaks. He describes Wikleaks actions as symptomatic of problems with the U.S. classification system, but unfocused as far as real policy objectives. Aftergood does suggest, however, that Wikileaks grew in part from a reaction to a dysfunctional security classification system.
EducationB.Sc., electrical engineering, UCLA, 1977 References
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