After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, many government agencies began reducing
their disclosure of information to the public, sometimes in areas that were not clearly associated
with national security. A situation that occurred near a Maryland army base illustrates
this shift in disclosure practices. Residents near Aberdeen, Maryland, have worried for years
about the safety of their drinking water due to their suspicion that potential toxic chemicals
leak into their water supply from a nearby weapons training center. In the years before the
9/11 attack, the army base had provided online maps of the area that detailed high-risk
zones for contamination. However, when residents found out that rocket fuel had entered
their drinking water in 2002, they also noticed that the maps the army provided were much
different than before. Roads, buildings, and hazardous waste sites were deleted from the
maps, making the resource far less effective. The army responded to complaints by saying
the omission was part of a national security blackout policy to prevent terrorism.
This incident is just one example of a growing trend toward information concealment
in the post-9/11 world, much of which affects the information made available on
the Internet.
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