The US Department of Defense has backed off its tough stance on social networking.
Last year the Marine Corps banned employees and service members from accessing sites such as Facebook and Twitter from Department computers, citing concerns that lax protection on social networks might allow malicious code to infiltrate government computers. The move was part of a broad reassessment of how the Pentagon and troops were engaging with an increasingly open web.
Now the Department has released a new policy that allows service members to access social media sites “from nonclassified government computers, as long as it doesn’t compromise operational security or involved prohibited actives or Web sites.”
“This directive recognizes the importance of balancing appropriate security measures while maximizing the capabilities afforded by 21st-century Internet tools,” said Deputy Defense Secretary William J Lynn III.
There are still caveats to the more open access. Commanders have the authority to temporarily limit access to maintain operations security, and accessing sites that promote gambling, pornography or hate crimes is prohibited.
But for service members who increasingly rely on social networking sites to stay in touch with friends and family while deployed, the new policy is welcome news.
