Pentagon Bans YouTube, MySpace

Access Cut From Troops' Computers Because Of Bandwidth, Information Sharing Concerns

(CBS/AP)  The Pentagon has opened up a new line of demarcation in an Information War, and U.S. troops and their families may be caught in the digital crossfire.

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

Soldiers serving overseas will therefore lose some of their online links to friends and loved ones back home. A high-ranking Army official said the ban would take effect Monday.

The military says it's worried that personal use on military computers is stealing bandwidth and perhaps hampering operations, reports CBS News correspondent Steve Kathan. They're also concerned that too much information may be getting out.

"This recreational traffic impacts our official DoD network and bandwidth ability, while posing a significant operational security challenge," the memo said.

The armed services have long barred members of the military from sharing information that could jeopardize their missions or safety, whether electronically or by other means.

The new policy is different because it creates a blanket ban on several sites used by military personnel to exchange messages, pictures, video and audio with family and friends.

Some of the sites provide important family links for soldiers overseas. Soldiers may miss out on homemade tributes or in sharing their videos and pictures from the fronts.

The flip side of this battle, too, is that soldiers will not be able to see videos posted by insurgents.

Iraqi insurgents or their supporters have been posting videos on YouTube at least since last fall, and the Army recently began posting its own videos on YouTube showing soldiers defeating insurgents and befriending Iraqis.

But the new rules mean many military personnel won't be able to watch those videos.

Members of the military can still access the sites on their own computers and networks, but Defense Department computers and networks are the only ones available to many soldiers and sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If the restrictions are intended to prevent soldiers from giving or receiving bad news, they could also prevent them from providing positive reports from the field, said Noah Shachtman, who runs a national security blog for Wired Magazine.

"This is as much an information war as it is bombs and bullets," he said. "And they are muzzling their best voices."

The sites covered by the ban are:

• Video-sharing sites YouTube, Metacafe, IFilm, StupidVideos and FileCabi;
  
• Social networking sites MySpace, BlackPlanet and Hi5;
  
• Music sites Pandora, MTV, 1.fm and live365; and
  
• Photo-sharing site Photobucket.

Several companies have instituted similar bans, saying recreational sites drain productivity.

[wiccantexan]

American citizens have rights, not the government. The government and the military are the servants of the American people and the only reason the they exist is to protect the Constitution.
Posted by GunOwnerDan at 05:18 PM : May 14, 2007

Ironically, soldiers give up certain rights when they enter military service. Being censored in this fashion in the name of national security, regardless of what they or we think of it, is one thing they accept upon taking the oath of service.

[youngminds]

These are our friends and our family, and thank goodness we have the technology for Myspace. For many of us it is our primary means of communication with our loved ones overseas. The article talks about the propaganda that the soldiers are possibly exposed to on these sites, but they don't have to see anything they don't choose to. Has the Pentagon thought about the Boost of Morale that the soldiers get when they have access to a little bit of home? Think about how they benefit from being able to see their children. If this is an information war, it is a psychological war. In the past we have had so many lives destroyed by the effects of war on the brain. I believe that communication with loved ones is key to reducing PTSD in our soldiers today. I have never received any sort of information from my friends overseas that would in anyway compromise what is going on over there. I think the Pentagon is full of it, and they are protecting some private interest by creating the ban. We cannot let this happen!
I'm sorry for all or you who may disagree with me, especially those who refer to our soldiers as spoiled brats. Those are our mothers%u2019 fathers, brothers and sisters. They are tough, and they work their tails off in the field to protect us, so that we can have our own opinions. And that is the best reason I can think of to support them and protect their best interests! While they are away fighting for us we should be fighting to protect them from our government!

[youngminds]

These are our friends and our family, and thank goodness we have the technology for Myspace. For many of us it is our primary means of communication with our loved ones overseas. The article talks about the propaganda that the the soldiers are possibly exposed to on these sites, but they don't have to see anything they don't choose to. Has the Pentagon thought about the Boost of Morale that the soldiers get when they have access to a little bit of home? Think about how they benefit from being able to see their children. If this is an information war, it is a psychological war. In the past we have had so many lives destroyed by the effects of war on the brain. I believe that communication with lovedones is key to reducing PTSD in our soldiers today. I have never revieved any sort of information from my friends overseas that would in anyway compromise what is going on over there. I think the Pentagon is full of it, and they are protecting some private intrest by creating the ban. We cannot let this happen!
I'm sorry for all or you who may disagree with me, especially those who refer to our soldiers as spoiled brats. Those are our mothers fathers, brothers and sisters. They are tough, and they work their tails off in the feild to protect us, so that we can have our own opinions. And that is the best reason I can think of to support them and protect their best intrests! While they are away fighting for us we should be fighting to protect them from our government!

[obiquital]

There is nothing wrong with this. Schools block certain sites from their network, private companies block certain sites from their networks. If the Department of Defense wants to block certain sites from their networks, that is their business.

[gunownerdan]

In the 1940's in Germany, a large majority of the German citizens had no idea that their leaders were exterminating millions of innocent people in huge concentration camps right in their own backyards.
Why didn't the people know? Why weren't they told?
Hitler's government had complete control of information and anyone who questioned them were threatened and silenced.

[gunownerdan]

Is it hard to have obedient soldiers when they are able to be part of the outside world?

[jw218389]

WHY ISN'T THIS IN "POLITICS"?

Clearly this is an another example of our soldiers being treated as second class citizens.

It's as disgraceful as Bush's "no funeral coverage" policy where TV channels are censored from showing military funerals.

[jw218389]

WHY ISN'T THIS IN "POLITICS"?

Clearly this is an another example of our soldiers being treated as second class citizens.

It's as disgraceful as Bush's "no funeral coverage" policy where TV channels are censored from showing military funerals.

[incog-nito]

"It is about time the military started looking and acting like the military instead of a bunch of modern day spoiled brats. It is also for security reasons these web sites have been taken away. When you sign the line you become the property of the government, hence the title-G.I.
Be glad they can still use their cell phones overseas or where ever they are. It is the military, not a college campus. Stop whining.
Posted by cmp271 at 07:40 PM : May 14, 2007"

Yeah, maybe these spoiled brats should get back to using swords and shields like real men used to fight. Guns are for girlies, right?

[incog-nito]

"It is about time the military started looking and acting like the military instead of a bunch of modern day spoiled brats. It is also for security reasons these web sites have been taken away. When you sign the line you become the property of the government, hence the title-G.I.
Be glad they can still use their cell phones overseas or where ever they are. It is the military, not a college campus. Stop whining.
Posted by cmp271 at 07:40 PM : May 14, 2007"

Yeah, maybe these spoiled brats should get back to using swords and shields like real men used to fight. Guns are for girlies.

[alphaa10-2009]

lars008 said, "... if it is ok for fascist nazi islamic muslims to kill all non muslims everywhere.... is it ok for the non muslims to kill all fascist nazi islamic muslims???"
---
First, define your terms properly, then try to make your argument-- it works better, that way. Fascism is defined as "a system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with a belligerent nationalism." (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)

With right-wing neocon, fascist drivel, Bush brought the American political system to a historic low, meeting important parameters of a Fascist state-- (1) with one-party control of all three branches of government, Bush isolated and excluded the loyal opposition in everything from congressional committees to gerrymandering electoral districts, obtaining rubber-stamped approval from federal courts (2) fostered regime-wide defiance of the rule of law (3) granted immunity to Bush-leaning criminal co-conspirators like Halliburton, KBR, Bechtel, Unisys and others to feed like hogs with no oversight at the public trough (4) silenced scientists and others who warned about global warming and governmental corruption (5) made America a shameless spectacle among nations for violating its own principles (6) made America into a global bully and unilateralist with lies about why he invaded Iraq, and more lies from about why he must stay there.

[thegeorgew]

How can you write a letter without a computer and email, let alone be able comment on your favorite news stories in real time?

Posted by caldwellptr at 09:11 PM : May 14, 2007


Quite simple. Pencil. Paper.

[thegeorgew]

How can you write a letter without a computer and email, let alone be able comment on your favorite news stories in real time?

Posted by caldwellptr at 09:11 PM : May 14, 2007


Quite simple. Pencil. Paper.

[thegeorgew]

How can you write a letter without a computer and email, let alone be able comment on your favorite news stories in real time?

Posted by caldwellptr at 09:11 PM : May 14, 2007


Quite simple. Pencil. Paper.

[caldwellptr]

"missyX21 - Write a letter. GI's have been writing letters home for over 200 years and it still works.
Posted by vet999999 at 05:19 PM : May 14, 2007"

How can you write a letter without a computer and email, let alone be able comment on your favorite news stories in real time?

[cmp271]

It is about time the military started looking and acting like the military instead of a bunch of modern day spoiled brats. It is also for security reasons these web sites have been taken away. When you sign the line you become the property of the government, hence the title-G.I.
Be glad they can still use their cell phones overseas or where ever they are. It is the military, not a college campus. Stop whining.

[incog-nito]

No big deal. They do this in China and North Korea too.

[gclark429]

To shoganca: No, I haven't had to use a community computer like that. I've always been fortunate enough to have my own. Something else though, the Pentagon is not stopping all personal use of government computers, only restricting access to that short list of sites. There are other alternatives that are free and our military members could use government systems to access them. Most Internet Service Providers (ISP's) give the customer a fixed amount of space for setting up your own webpage. This could be a viable method of communication between geographically separated family members too. And, in most cases, this is hosted free of charge. There are other sites too that allow a small amount of space for hosting websites, free. Believe me, I know that communication with loved ones overseas is important. Not only for the family here in the States but for the person overseas too. I spent 25 years in the military and several of those years were spent overseas, separated from family.

[gclark429]

To Shoganca, no, I haven't been in a position where I had to use a "community" computer like that. I've always been fortunate enough to have my own computer. What the Pentagon is saying though is that just a short list of sites would be restricted. Most Internet Service Providers(ISP's) give the subscriber a set amount of space to create your own website. This could be a viable option that would still be available to our troops overseas. There are a number of other sites as well where you can create an account where you can post pictures and exchange information with others and these sites are completely free. Nobody wants to see our troops cut off from communicating with loved ones back home. Let's just find another way to do it, other websites.

[vet999999]

missyX21 - Write a letter. GI's have been writing letters home for over 200 years and it still works.