15. CONTROL OF INFORMATION Control of information on the development and utilization of atomic energy is one of the basic AEC missions under the Atomic Energy Act of 1946. The various related pro- visions of the Act are defined and interpreted in GM-INF-2, "Policy for Control of Infor- mation." Both of these basic papers state firmly that critical information must be protected and then, recognizing the value of the free exchange of ideas and criticisms and the dangers of security blanketing, they state as firmly that non-critical information must be made available to the public. An unusual provision of the Act, Section 3 (a), underlines this by providing that research and development contractual arrangements "shall not con- tain any provisions or conditions which prevent the dissemination of scientific or technical information, except to the extent such dissemination is prohibited by law." Four distinct programs have been developed which support the information control objective. Two have as their primary function the protection of classified information (in the sense of all data): Classification and Security. Two have as their primary function assuring that non-critical information is made publicly available: Declassification and Information. Responsibility and authority for the control of information programs is assigned by the Commission to the General Manager and by him to Operations Managers, these assignments being all-inclusive as part of in-line management except as specifically limited in official papers. Operations Managers mayin turn delegate more limited responsibility and authority to their field offices and to contractors. Washington staff supervision has been assigned by the General Manager to: Office of Classification (including its Declassification Branch), Office of Security, and Division of Information Services. Each has a counterpart, either fulltime or added duty, performing staff supervision in SFOO headquarters and each has a counterpart or is reflected in field offices and contractors. Summary of SFO!s Information Control Programs Four programs of SFO are concerned directly with the control of information: The mission of SFO Classification is to determine the weapons informa- tion which could be used by inimical interests to the detriment of United States security, and as part of the same process to establish the data which may remain unclassified. A continuing review of both categories is performed to determine if developments require protection for previously-unclassified items, ad or if protected items may be downgraded to lower classifications or should be considered for declassification. A primary mission of SFO Security is to protect classified weapons information, assuring that unauthorized persons do not have access to critical data. A related objective is to assure that security fences are not put around unclassified information. The mission goal is expressed in a variety of operations, such as personnel clearance and control, document control, visitor control, and protection of physical property including fissionable materials. Leo te. /1¢ .