BLUF: Classification Guidelines in the IC

Listen, we’ve been around national security long enough to know that classification standards and declassification processes evoke a certain … visceral reaction. There is a constant push-pull between the necessary protection of sources and methods critical to our intelligence ecosystem and ensuring an informed citizenry and timely, efficient information sharing with allies and partners. This push-pull has become more pronounced in recent years, in response to the sheer volume of digital data being collected and stored.

The topic has become particularly relevant in the past several weeks and months, as calls for declassification—on topics such as the TikTok ban, Chinese drones, and Russia’s nuclear anti-satellite weaponry, among others—become more common.

The dynamic isn’t altogether new and the uptick in declassification requests is by no means unexpected. Still, the renewed emphasis does raise questions about what the intelligence community can and should do to modernize its classification guidelines and declassification processes.

In a 2022 letter to Senators Ron Wyden and Jerry Moran, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines acknowledged that “deficiencies in the current classification system undermine our national security, as well as critical democratic objectives, by impeding our ability to share information in a timely manner.”

The arguments for reformed classification guidelines are numerous, and are well documented. Still, any changes must be balanced by the equally important foundations upon which the current classification standards were built: the protection of vital information, assets, and methodology that guarantee the country’s strategic superiority.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution here, but we commend the DoD and IC for thinking outside the box on possible solutions.

If you are interesting in receiving our full newsletter every Thursday, subscribe here.