Controlling Information

Executive departments and agencies have been using ad hoc, agency-specific policies, procedures and markings to safeguard and control so-called "controlled unclassified" information, but the White House is moving to change that.

"This inefficient, confusing patchwork has resulted in inconsistent marking and safeguarding of documents, led to unclear or unnecessarily restrictive dissemination policies, and created impediments to authorized information sharing. The fact that these agency-specific policies are often hidden from public view has only aggravated these issues," President Obama writes in a new executive order that establishes a program for managing "controlled unclassified information."