US army allows Twitter
Source: Agencies |
February 28, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Pentagon has authorized the use of Twitter, Facebook and other so-called "Web 2.0" sites across the US military, saying on Friday the benefits of social media outweighed security concerns.
The decision, which comes at a time of growing concern over cyber-security, applies only to the US military's non-classified network.
But it could mean big changes for large portions of the armed forces, including the Marines, which had selectively banned social media on work computers.
The Department of Defense also had bans in place since 2007 on accessing certain bandwidth-gobbling Websites like YouTube on its network.
"The purpose of the policy is to recognize that we need to take advantage of these Internet-based capabilities. These Web 2.0 tools need to be part of what we use," said David Wennergren, a deputy assistant secretary of defense.
"And what we had were inconsistent approaches. Some Websites were blocked and some commands were blocking things."
Social media are increasingly important for the US military. Admiral Mike Mullen, who as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the top US military officer, has a Twitter feed with more than 16,000 followers.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 66, has said he wants to use social networking to help the Pentagon interact with US military members, many in their early 20s.
The new policy says commanders will still need to defend against cyber-attacks.
The decision, which comes at a time of growing concern over cyber-security, applies only to the US military's non-classified network.
But it could mean big changes for large portions of the armed forces, including the Marines, which had selectively banned social media on work computers.
The Department of Defense also had bans in place since 2007 on accessing certain bandwidth-gobbling Websites like YouTube on its network.
"The purpose of the policy is to recognize that we need to take advantage of these Internet-based capabilities. These Web 2.0 tools need to be part of what we use," said David Wennergren, a deputy assistant secretary of defense.
"And what we had were inconsistent approaches. Some Websites were blocked and some commands were blocking things."
Social media are increasingly important for the US military. Admiral Mike Mullen, who as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the top US military officer, has a Twitter feed with more than 16,000 followers.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, 66, has said he wants to use social networking to help the Pentagon interact with US military members, many in their early 20s.
The new policy says commanders will still need to defend against cyber-attacks.
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