Can Government Workers Read Wikileaks?

Those hoping to land a government position have yet another burden to bear as they seek employment, and current government employees better be paying attention too. Reading or using social media sites to link to publications found on Wikileaks may make you ineligible for a government position.

Publications made by nonprofit organization Wikileaks, which has shouldered its share of criticism as well as praise lately, are still considered classified. In a memo released to general counsels of various government agencies and made public through CNN, the act of publication by Wikileaks does:

Not alter the documents' classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents. To the contrary, classified information, whether or not already posted on public websites or disclosed to the media remains classified, and must be treated as such by federal employees and contractors, until it is declassified by an appropriate U.S. Government authority.

Spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget Moira Mack says that the memo ''does not advise agencies to block WikiLeaks or other websites on government computer systems.'' However, the Department of Defense has blocked access to WikiLeaks and instructed employees to avoid reading the documents, according to representatives of the agency. Similarly, the Library of Congress has blocked the site from patrons of the library's reading room and from its staff.

Although this kind of censorship is borderline Orwellian, what might be most frightening for these employees is the threat of losing one's job. Moira Mack was asked if employees' jobs were threatened if they accessed Wikileaks on government or personal computers or other devices with access to the internet such as smart phones. Her response was that ''any breaches of protocols governing access to classified material are subject to applicable sanctions under long-standing and existing law.''

And yes, you read that right: personal devices are included.

The same warning could be heeded by people seeking government positions, as outlined by an email from the Office of Career Services at Columbia University. The email stated:

The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. He recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government.

The Boston University School of Law sent a similar message out to students, stating, ''There are various levels of security checks, but all federal positions require background checks. As part of such checks, social media may be researched to see what you are up to, so DO NOT post links to the documents or make comments on any social media sites.''

Whether or not these warnings to students are valid, they are at least something to consider in light of the most recent memos from the government.