[WikiEN-l] Classified information in Wikipedia

Fri Apr 1 17:57:22 UTC 2005

Robert Merkel wrote:

>Hi guys, 
>
>Here's a hypothetical for you.  Say somebody posts a piece of
>information about, say, an American-designed weapon, to the Wikipedia. 
>A piece of information that the US government would prefer to be kept
>secret and thus is classified.  Now, the person that originally leaked
>the information could certainly be punished under US law, but is the
>Wikipedia under any *legal* obligation to delete the information,
>assuming it's relevant?
>
I wouldn't think so.  Starting a fuss of this kind would only bring 
attention to the fact that there is a government secret on the web.  
Neither denying nor confirming the information is a more effective 
tactic.  That way you can always use the argument that the material 
comes from the writer's own imagination, and that he's just putting out 
his own crank theory.

What ever happened to the bloke, who some years back was avoiding 
prosecution under Britain's "Official Secrets Act." by living in Australia?

IIRC during WW2 some U.S. science fiction writers were arrested because 
what they wrote suggested knowledge of defence secrets.

Ec