New regs threaten Army blogs

Noah Shachtman of Wired's DANGER ROOM blog reports that new Army regulations could mean the end of soldier blogging.

The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.

(deletia)

The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted before every blog update.

"This is the final nail in the coffin for combat blogging," said retired paratrooper Matthew Burden, editor of The Blog of War anthology. "No more military bloggers writing about their experiences in the combat zone. This is the best PR the military has -- it's most honest voice out of the war zone. And it's being silenced."

I just interviewed Burden for tomorrow's Future Tense. You can listen to that interview right here and now. I'm also trying to line up a talk with Noah. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: The Army seems to be soft-peddling the new regs. From an AP story:

Army Maj. Ray M. Ceralde, who worked on the new regulations, said Wednesday the intention of the 2007 rule is not to have soldiers clear every public posting with commanders.

"Not only is that impractical, but we are trusting the soldiers to protect critical information," he said.

He said there is no effort to block soldiers from setting up or posting comments to blogs. "We're not looking for them to seek approval each time a blog entry is posted," Ceralde said.

The rules, he said, do not affect personal, private e-mails that soldiers send. "Soldiers have a right to private communications with their families," he said.

I asked Noah from Wired News why the Army seems to be backing away. He responds in this audio interview.

2nd UPDATE: Here is the Future Tense version of the story for your listening pleasure (RealAudio - MP3 - iTunes).

3rd UPDATE: Three U.S. Senators, including Minnesota Republican Norm Coleman, are expressing concern about the new Army rule. Here is the text of that letter:

May 4, 2007

The Honorable Robert M. Gates
Secretary
Department of Defense
1300 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1300

Dear Secretary Gates:

Since the War on Terror began six years ago, the American people have benefited greatly from direct correspondence with men and women in uniform serving abroad via military blogs. Military blogs have helped military families stay connected with loved ones back home and have deepened public perception and understanding of both successes and setbacks that have occurred in the War on Terror.

It is with this in mind that we write to express our concern regarding recent updates to Army Regulation 530-1 relating to security requirements for electronic communications.

While the Army’s new regulations rightly address the vulnerabilities created by this new medium, we are concerned the regulations may also inadvertently weaken what has proven to be a significant asset in our media age: the firsthand accounts of American military men and women on the ground.

We ask that you closely examine communications regulations within the Department of Defense to strike the necessary balance between information security and individual expression.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter. We look forward to your response.