Soldiers access to YouTube and MySpace Blocked

[pab]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 1:23pm

"DENVER — Soldiers serving overseas will lose some of their online links to friends and loved ones back home under a Department of Defense policy that a high-ranking Army official said would take effect Monday.

The Defense Department will begin blocking access "worldwide" to YouTube, MySpace and 11 other popular Web sites on its computers and networks, according to a memo sent Friday by Gen. B.B. Bell, the U.S. Forces Korea commander.

The policy is being implemented to protect information and reduce drag on the department's networks, according to Bell."
Defense Dept. Blocking MySpace, YouTube

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 1:37pm

Well, at least they still have BroadwayWorld.com.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 1:55pm

I have to say it's about time. I thought it was very careless the way the military let soldiers access and freely post on Myspace. I have personal friends that put up questionable military information and incriminating photographs. I think this is a good measure.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 2:02pm

Because morale wasn't already in the toilet.

[TheActr97J]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 2:08pm

^^ Amen!

[Jonny boy]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 2:12pm

I think that it is Awfull that they took it away! First they stick them in the middle of an unjust war and then they take away a connection they have to thier family and friend. This government is WACK!

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 3:47pm

For the first time ever, I actually agree with mejusthavingfun. I'm sure it's a disappointment to the soldiers, but if there was a possibility they were posting vital information, then it should be taken away. I don't see it as a punishment, just as a precaution. I'm sure they'll still have access to email. It's not like they'll be cut off completely.

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 3:50pm

The information can just as easily get out via email (or any of the other endless networking sites on the internet) as it could via myspace.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 4:01pm

guess i wont be talking to doug anymore x_X
the only way we talked was through myspace.

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 4:25pm

I just don't think it's a big deal. Yes, it's definitely a disappointment, but there are other ways to contact family and friends. There are much worse things that can be taken away from them. I mean, I'm the last person to support this war and the people running it, but I think there are bigger issues at hand than the soldiers' access to their blogs.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 5:26pm

I have a highschool friend that received a severe head wound in Iraq. He is lucky to be alive right now, I'm just not sure his myspace represents the hero he is supposed to be.

The early days when he was in Iraq he would blog occasionally online. He started to post pictures up. One day I noticed one where he was training Iraqi soldiers. In the photo I could clearly see the targets that were used. They were mocked up people with Middle Eastern slurs written on the faces. I was really shocked that he had the balls to post that. It's still up, but I wont provide a link.

You are right they can do this via e-mail, I just think the whole communication thing should be a little more controlled. I am not a fan of censorship, and as much as I appreciated someone showing proof of torture in Iraq, I think it was a catastrophic mistake those pictures even made it out.

It’s kind of like when you work for a company, trade secrets are supposed to be secrets.

[lildogs]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 5:57pm

You don't get it both ways, mejust...you can't have transparency with the politics of the Iraq War AND keep the soldiers from posting information too--the soldiers are the ones who are put in danger by the posting of such material, so if they're doing it themselves, who are we to say what should and shouldn't be posted?

I say if you're risking your life in a foreign country, you should be able to post on myspace or watch videos on youtube...why would low-level soldiers have any classified information in the first place?

[Kringas]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 7:08pm

My first thought was than any employer has the right to limit what sort of sites its employees can access with company resources and/or company time. I realize that the US Army isn't your everyday employer, but when I look at it in those simplest of terms, it makes sense to me.

And yeah, a lot of the same information can trickle out via email, but even if you have a huge forward list, it's not like the information is going to be disseminated like it would if it were on a public web page.

[mejusthavingfun]

Posted: 5/16/07 at 12:29pm

lildogs - I'm not asking that the military be transparent, I'm asking that the reason to go to war be. I would never want to stand in the way of national security. I want the management of the war to be transparent. I want everything to be logged and tracked for historical purposes. When the war is finished we can go in and review classified materials.

"why would low-level soldiers have any classified information in the first place? "

Do you know any soldiers? Most of the ones I know have been exposed to classified information. Even simple photographs can give details to a potential enemy of base locations, equipment, etc. Sensitive information needs to be taken seriously.

This has nothing to do with soldiers but did you know there is a group of Amateur satellite spotters that track everything in the sky? They blog and post their findings online in messages boards and such. The information on that site in may have aided people like Osama Bin Laden evade capture. Even our most sophisticated spy satellites are not stealth and can be spotted by any trained eye.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/16/07 at 2:02pm

If you read the article it says that only the Department of Defense network was going to block these sites. There are other ways for soldiers to access them, just not through this network. There are FUBI (For US by Iraqis) internet cafes that will provide access to the sites. It's only a matter of how often the soldiers can com across these places.