Classification Decisions, Pages Declassified Level Off; AP Finds More State Laws Restrictive Than Open
The Information Security Oversight Office has released its 2005 Report to the President, an overview of government classification and declassification activity.
The ISOO found that among those reporting there were 14.2 million classification decisions made in 2005, down 9 percent from 15.6 million in 2004. Despite the decrease, however, overall classification decisions remain up some 5.5 million since 2001.
"Judging by the reported numbers, it appears that the executive branch agencies, as a whole, are applying better diligence in the management of their information security programs," according to the report.
However, it continued, "ISOO views the decrease reported in classification, particularly after three years of rising numbers, as a positive step, but it remains cautious. ISOO will review agency reporting procedures to confirm their reliability.
