Lawmaker asks Defense not to block YouTube, MySpace
The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee on Tuesday asked the Defense Department not to block access by military personnel to a dozen Web sites, including the YouTube video-sharing site and the MySpace social network.
The military said the new policy is designed to reduce strain on its Internet networks.
"While I understand concerns about bandwidth strain on the network," panel Chairman Edward Markey, D-Mass., wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, "I fail to see how blocking these particular sites is consistent with achieving network efficiency."
Markey said it would be better for the military to ration scarce Internet resources. The congressman also expressed surprise that bandwidth-consuming videogame sites were not on the department's list.
COMMENTS
- on a long hard night out in the field. the only thing I wanted was to see my family's new pictures, I had 5 minuets of free time, and unto my horror myspace was blocked. I understand sometimes it can give valuable or secure information.. but soldier web blogs have given away 28 secure pieces of information... but official us government websites have given away over 1800.. its not bandwidth, its censorship.. the government is protecting families from the truth of the war. anonomous Posted September 11, 2007 10:33 PM
- I'm not personally familiar with either site, but having been a Federal employee for over 30 years; I agree they are inappropriate for a Government computer. Apparently MySpace is nothing more than a "dating/match" service, or that's what it was for my daughter. After meeting and dating several soldiers from that site, the last one she "met" arrived in person 10 days later, he drove 1,000 miles to pick up her and her new born baby (product of another soldier) to return to base and get married two days later. Unfortunately, it appears a lot of guys want a wife before they are sent to Iraq; what happens when they return. Fortunately, he seems to be a great guy and I hope for his safe and expedient return and that their life together is permanent. Anonymous Posted May 16, 2007 10:49 AM
- I won’t fight the battles of OPSEC, limited resources, or the treat of contaminated internet content. We all know those. If the reader doesn’t and is concerned there is much information, both civilian and military, widely available for your perusal. I do hope to act as the Devil’s Advocate, if merely for consideration. Two of my cousins have been deployed during the current conflict. They are both loyal, competent, and rapid-risers in a highly technical field; and suffer the two main woes of soldiers through out history, in any conflict … survival and boredom. You all know the survival portion; now please consider “the rest of the story”. One of my cousins, a young hotshot SSG, actually had the job of operating an Internet Café fielded and sponsored by the local command. His job consisted of acquisition, connectivity, and maintenance issues for a large telecommunications facility; simply created for the morale and welfare of our troops. Email, games, news, video conferencing, phone calls, all went a LONG way for improving morale. This is NOT done on company time but during those long off-hours and through extended deployments. Competition for time was fierce and access greatly appreciated by soldiers and families. The Command reaped the benefits of a well deserved beneficent reputation; simply put, they took care of their troops. Addressing the issues of such access would benefit the military as a whole. Our current weaknesses in the field relate primarily to infrastructure. Our pipes are too small, contamination is still a valid threat, and OPSEC always a concern. Military investigator has actually discovered useful intelligence on these same restricted sites which are not restricted to those same investigators. Regardless, these are all “nice to have” capabilities and must wait until they are more affordable. Still, I do hope to refocus this discussion from the office worker accessing these sites from work illegally to the soldier who has no other access or entertainment. One is deserving of consideration; the other is not. Tip off Posted May 16, 2007 10:12 AM
