December 3, 2010: Library of Congress Blocks Access to WikiLeaks

The Library of Congress blocks access to WikiLeaks’ website across its computer systems, including those operated by library users in reading rooms. The library puts out a statement saying that users should not access documents regarded as classified, even if the documents are placed in the public domain through leaking. “The library decided to block Wikileaks because applicable law obligates federal agencies to protect classified information,” says the library. “Unauthorized disclosures of classified documents do not alter the documents’ classified status or automatically result in declassification of the documents.” [Matt Raymond, 12/3/2010]