Pentagon Press Secretary George Little released a statement last night in which he said the Department of Defense is going to look into reports that it blocked LGBT sites like this one, Human Rights Campaign’s online digs, Bilerico, Good As You and others.
The statement via AMERICAblog, another blocked site:
Recent reports have suggested that the Pentagon is blocking access to LGBT related websites. The Department of Defense does not block websites based on LGBT content.
The Department of Defense strongly supports the rights of gay and lesbian men and women in uniform to serve proudly and openly.
With Internet technology constantly evolving, the Department of Defense is working to ensure that service members have access to an open Internet while preserving information and operational security.
There are a number of different Internet tools used across the department to ensure that adequate cybersecurity and information security standards are maintained, and in certain instances, access may limited to content not directly related to carrying out mission or professional duties.
In order to help maintain adequate levels of information security in support of DoD policy, some components employ commercial tools that may allow users to visit “news” sites while disallowing pages categorized as “personal sites and blogs”.
No filter is perfect and some sites may have unnecessarily been blocked. The Department Chief Information Officer will work with relevant components to address these situations.
John Aravosis at AMERICAblog notes how remarkable it is that Little himself, rather than an underling, released the statement, a move that suggests the Department, a known ally of LGBT staffers and pride, will act fast to open up the online avenues.
