To view video from the conference, click the photo
Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell spoke with reporters about the issues involved with social networking in a press conference Aug. 5. Here’s a transcript of his answer.
Q. Now that the Pentagon is reviewing this policy to, I guess, create a policy by the end of September,
a uniform policy, regarding social networking sites, the Marine Corps though said yesterday they would essentially ban them. The services are allowed to do their own thing here and there. But to what extent? And can you say if whether this ultimate DOD policy would supersede the Marine Corps’s own banning of these, of the use of these?
MR. MORRELL: Yeah. The department sets the policy for the building, for the services, yes. So we would — that would supersede. I think the Marine Corps policy, if I’m not mistaken, has actually — it’s come to light now. But I think it actually has been in effect for quite some time.
And I think it was, you know, commanders have the authority and the wherewithal to take precautions if they, you know, in order to secure their operations, and I think that was the judgment made by the Marine Corps some time ago.
We’re going to — I think the deputy secretary has ordered now this review by the chief information officer. It will be probably the most exhaustive look that we’ve taken at this new phenomenon of social networking. And at the end of it, I think, we’ll all have a better understanding of the pros and cons.
I think you’ve heard from the secretary, several times in this room, about the value he sees in these new communications devices, especially in communicating to 18-to-25-year-olds. I mean, that’s — the majority of his force is roughly in that age frame.
They are — they are using these tools. We need to be mindful of that. We’ve got to be able to use them, to greater effect, to communicate to our own folks. Frankly the people who we’re trying to win over and avoid conflicts, around the world, are in that age frame. And they’re also using these tools. So they can be enormously valuable, not just in communicating to our own internal force but to friends and foes around the world.
That said there are clearly risks associated with these new devices. And we’ve got to get a better understanding of the benefits and risks and how we can protect ourselves, from the cyber threats that may be associated with this and frankly not just cyber threats but from — we have a need to protect information.
You know, oftentimes through carelessness or whatever, information is disseminated that shouldn’t be. So we need to be mindful of those trying to get information from us and our own actions, in terms of inadvertently leaking information.
So we’re going to look at all these things, as part of this review. And hopefully in the next few weeks, we’ll have a better understanding of the way forward.
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