U.S. Blocking Soldiers' Access to YouTube, Other Popular Sites

DENVER — The U.S. Department of Defense is blocking soldiers’ access to a handful of popular social networking and user-post sites — including YouTube and MySpace — under a new policy that took effect Monday.

In a Defense Department memo obtained by XBIZ, General Burwell “BB” Bell, commander of U.S. forces for Korea, states that the Defense “has a growing concern” regarding the use of its unclassified Internet, known as the NIPRNET.

The primary sources of concern for the Defense Department are wasted resources and potential security lapses, according to Bell’s memo.

“The Commander of the DoD’s Joint Task Force, Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO) has noted a significant increase in use of DoD network resources tied up by individuals visiting certain recreational Internet sites,” Bell wrote. “This recreational traffic impacts our official DoD network and bandwidth availability, while posing a significant operational security challenge.”

Under the new policy, the Defense Department is blocking “worldwide access” to YouTube.com, 1.fm, Pandora.com, PhotoBucket.com, MySpace.com, Live365.com, Hi5.com, Metacafe.com, MTV.com, iFilm.com, BlackPlanet.com, StupidVideos.com and FileCabi.com.

Major Bruce Mumford, brigade communications officer for the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, told Forbes.com that he thinks blocking such sites is just good military policy.

“The U.S. Army’s not going to pay the bill for you to get on MySpace and YouTube,” Mumford said. “Soldiers need to know what they can and cannot do, but we shouldn’t be facilitating it.”

The access policy will affect only Defense Department computers and will not apply to the computers soldiers keep at home, Bell stated in the memo, although he cautioned soldiers to take appropriate precautions from home, as well.

“[If] you access such sites using your personal home computer, you should exercise caution in forwarding any links from these sites to DoD computers or networks,” Bell wrote. “To do so could compromise OPSEC [operational security] and create an opportunity for hacking and virus intrusion.”

Bell also cautioned Defense Department personnel to “always be alert to protecting sensitive, unclassified information” whether surfing the net from home or from their Defense Department-owned computers, and to keep in mind other forms of risk inherent to the Internet environment.

“This benefits not only you, your fellow servicemembers and civilian employees, but preserves our vital networks for conducting official DoD business in peace and war,” Bell wrote. “You should also be mindful of the risk of identity theft that these sites pose and protect yourself and your family.”

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Skinfluential Management's FansFuel Acquires Fanwire

FansFuel has acquired creator account management tool Fanwire.

Nebraska AV Bill Moves Forward Despite Privacy, Free Speech Concerns

Nebraska’s unicameral Legislature has given first-round approval to LB 1092, the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

AEBN Celebrates 25th Anniversary

The Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN) is celebrating its 25th year in business this week.

Performers in Meta Blacklisting Lawsuit Seek to Preserve Antitrust Claims

Adult Performance Artists Guild board officers Alana Evans, Kelly Pierce and Ruby have informed a California court that, although they want to drop their lawsuit claiming that Meta conspired with OnlyFans to blacklist rival premium fan platforms’ talent, they may still pursue antitrust claims in the future.

FSC, Co-Plaintiffs to Ask US Supreme Court to Review Constitutionality of Texas Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) and its co-plaintiffs in the challenge to Texas’ controversial age verification law have petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to stay its recent decision upholding the law, because they intend to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law’s constitutionality.

FSC Vows to Fight Florida Age Verification Law

Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has issued a statement vowing to continue fighting Florida’s new age verification law, which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday as part of a comprehensive bill targeting minors’ use of social media.

Kansas Republican Aims to Create New Bureaucracy to 'Investigate' Porn Websites

Republican state legislators succeeded Monday in moving forward Kansas’ version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, despite serious concerns raised by House Democrats about the cost of establishing a new bureaucracy tasked with investigating websites for pornographic content.

SK Intertainment Launches 'Skinfluential Management' Agency, FansFuel Joint Venture

Mr. Skin/Mr. Man parent company SK Intertainment has launched new creator agency Skinfluential Management, as well as a new joint venture with Showbizz Media's creator stats and affiliate marketing platform, FansFuel.

Industry Attorney, Free Speech Champion Clyde DeWitt Passes Away at 75

Noted industry attorney Clyde DeWitt passed away on Friday in Las Vegas at 75, according to friends and colleagues.

APClips Names Avery Jane 'Creator of the Month'

APClips has named Avery Jane its Creator of the Month for March.

Show More