The issue over public access has taken a new urgency after the September 11th terrorist attacks with some -- often including those who opposed public access before September 11 th -- arguing that we should not be providing information that could be used by terrorists to do damage. On December 7, 2001, the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) discussed terrorism and the use of the Internet in its Highlights. The newsletter identified seven factors to consider when publishing information to the Internet. For example, one factor is whether the information is available elsewhere on the Internet. Following its December newsletter notice, NIPC issued an advisory on January 17, 2002, warning that the Internet has made "arcane and seemingly isolated information quickly and easily retrievable" and that information useful for planning attacks on the U.S. infrastructure "is being accessed from sites around the world." The agency once again issued its seven security factors to consider before posting information to the Internet. Also on January 17, 2002, James K. Kallstrom, Director of the Office of Public Security and James G. Natoli, Director of the Office of State Operations in New York, issued confidential memo to agency heads and commissioners on "agency sensitive information." The memo instructs agencies to review all "sensitive" information held by the agency and what information is made publicly accessible via the Internet, freedom of information, or other ways. Sensitive information should no longer be made available to the public except where specifically required by law. Logs over the past year of who has accessed sensitive information should be made available to the Office of Public Security and the Office of State Operations. All of this was to be accomplished by February 17 and certified by agency heads through a confidential report. Since September 11, there have been fundamental shifts in public access policies and procedures. Four areas in which there have been changes include:

1. Vast amounts of information have been removed from government web sites. The scope of what has been removed is vast and it has been done without any policy guidance or careful vetting. In most agencies it is lower-level staff that are making the decision to remove the information, mostly taking a "better safe than sorry" approach. More than five months after the terrorist attacks, the government still has no official policy with regard to what it removes from web sites or what it will restore. Some examples of what has been removed include (a full list is available on OMB Watch's website):
   • The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) shut down its entire web site in early October. The site included detailed information such as the longitude and latitude coordinates of 103 nuclear plants, technical data on plant operations, detailed engineering schematics of plant systems and components, and aerial photographs. Immediately after the terrorist attacks, NRC was criticized for having too much information on the Internet. Then, after shutting down its Web site, the commission was criticized for having none.
   • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discontinued providing Risk Management Plans, which provide information about worst-case scenarios if a major disaster occurred at a chemical plant. This is the same information that is still publicly available through OMB Watch's RTK NET. The American Chemistry Council, the trade association for chemical manufacturers, and other trade associations, such as the American Water Works Association, have lobbied for years to limit or shut down public access to information about hazardous chemicals being used in the community, including through public reading rooms -- and now justify removal with the threat of terrorism.
   • The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) removed a report that notes that, "security at chemical plants ranged from fair to very poor" and that "security around chemical transportation assets ranged from poor to non-existent." The report, Industrial Chemicals and Terrorism: Human Health Threat Analysis, Mitigation and Prevention, does not provide information about individual facilities. Moreover, a Google search found two non-government sites that provide a copy of the ATSDR report.
   • The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has removed tens of thousands of documents from the Internet and from public reading rooms, cutting off access to detailed information on hydropower plants, natural gas and oil pipelines, electric transmission lines and other "critical infrastructure." FERC has made public statements about the importance of public access, but has also said that the agency might require recipients of the information to register to obtain passwords, personal identification numbers or digital signatures to limit distribution to those deemed to need the information. For certain information, the agency has talked about requiring individuals to sign nondisclosure agreements. Community groups note that the maps of pipelines are essential to help residents know about pipelines that have not been checked or have weaknesses. They point to the death of children in Washington who were playing around a pipeline that was uninspected and blew up.
   • The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has removed data from its web site on enforcement actions. The FAA's web site allows users to download a number of different databases. This includes records of accidents and incidents, pilot and maintenance training schools, and until recently, data on enforcement actions, which is called the EIS database. This database is used to identify security breaches at airports. While the FAA has removed this information, Logan Airport has taken the opposite approach. They are supplying the public with information about security issues to assure the public that security is improving.
   • State level information has also been removed. Pennsylvania removed environmental information on issues such as water and air quality, as well as mining operations and soil conditions, from its web site. New Jersey has removed chemical information from its web site, including information on 30,000 private sector facilities that must report on chemical storage, including quantities and types of containers, for about 1,000 to 1,200 different chemicals. Florida is withholding public access to information on crop dusters and certain driver's license information.
   • A number of maps have been removed from web sites. For example, the St. Petersburg Times reported, that the National Imagery and Mapping Agency "stopped selling large-scale digital maps to the public through its Web site and turned off the search engine on its Web site that allowed customers to download maps from its archives." Another example, the Office of Pipeline Safety within the Department of Transportation has posted a note to its web site saying that they "have discontinued providing open access to the National Pipeline Mapping System."
2. Information is being destroyed. On October 12, 2001, the Federal Depository Libraries received a request, on behalf of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Associate Director for Water, to destroy all copies of a CD-ROM publication: Source area characteristics of large public surface water supplies (19.76:99-248 USGS Open-File Report no. 99-248). This CD-ROM provides information about water sources, such as dams and reservoirs, including maps of their locations. The destruction orders, which officially came from the Government Printing Office (GPO), was sent to librarians at 335 federal depository libraries across the country. There have been past requests to recall various information products, but only when the information was incorrect or outdated, never because of a policy decision to keep it secret. The GPO action created great concern in the library community. But the concern barometer really jumped when FBI agents visited some Arkansas libraries to verify that the CD-ROMs had been destroyed. They also requested information on who had used the CD-ROMs when they were public information. There have been no other reports of similar FBI visits.
3. The policies underlying public access are changing. The safety net of public access is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Nonprofits throughout the country rely heavy on FOIA as a vehicle for obtaining information, holding government accountable, and more. Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a memorandum on October 12, 2001 urging federal agencies to exercise greater caution in disclosing information requested under FOIA. The memo affirms the Justice Department's commitment to "full compliance with the Freedom of Information Act," but then immediately states it is "equally committed to protecting other fundamental values that are held by our society. Among them are safeguarding our national security, enhancing the effectiveness of our law enforcement agencies, protecting sensitive business information and, not least, preserving personal privacy." This new policy supersedes a 1993 memorandum from then-Attorney General Janet Reno that promoted disclosure of government information under FOIA unless it was "reasonably foreseeable that disclosure would be harmful." This standard of "foreseeable harm" is dropped in the Ashcroft memo. Instead, Ashcroft advises, "When you carefully consider FOIA requests and decide to withhold records, in whole or in part, you can be assured that the Department of Justice will defend your decisions unless they lack a sound legal basis..." Thus, the new message from the Attorney General to the agencies is to, where possible, withhold the information from disclosure. This is a fundamental reversal of past policies that emphasized, where possible, to disclose the information. Other policies are changing. In January, OMB released "data quality" guidelines. These guidelines serve as a potential tool to limit dissemination of government information and to add another layer of bureaucracy that can slow down government rulemakings.
4. The procedures for using reading rooms has become more restricted. Although public reading rooms are no substitute for the Internet, there are changes being made to procedures for using the reading rooms that limit access. For example, in many agencies, you now need to be "cleared" to enter the building. Additionally, you need an "escort" to take you to the reading room. In some agencies, the escort must stay with you in the reading room and lead you to the bathroom and to the exit when you leave. Information is not in all reading rooms. Some agencies have designated that only selected reading rooms will have certain information, making it increasingly difficult for the public to get the information.