Availability of sensitive information on U.S. government web pages

Abstract

This paper will help attendees understand the struggle that government agencies in the United States face when trying to uphold two diametrically opposed goals, transparency in information versus opaqueness in information, resulting in a semi-transparent state of egovernment. I will explain some of the reasons why sensitive information is being withheld from government web pages, specifically information that may be useful to terrorists. I also explain why this same information should be made available to the public. Using radioactive materials as an example, I identify the various types of information that are currently available and not available on the internet. In the future, legislative action could be used to resolve inconsistent information restrictions by the various government agencies. Also, restricted information could be reviewed by an independent third party to verify if the classification is correct. Future research opportunities include impacts of data mining, webcasts, and social portals on government web pages.