A proposed federal guideline would require employees to sign non-disclosure agreements that restrict speaking to journalists without prior authorization. The White House could pursue legal action against workers who violate the requirement. The proposal states the government could be entitled to royalties from disclosures, though the meaning is unclear. The rule would cover information about internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, and sensitive pre-decisional or deliberative material not currently publicly available and not permitted for disclosure under applicable law. Agencies would need to agree to implement the directive. A 30-day public comment period would follow publication in the Federal Register.
"The administration of US President Donald Trump has proposed a guideline for federal workers that would require the employees to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent them from speaking to journalists without prior authorisation. The new proposal, announced on Tuesday by the Office of Personnel Management, says that the White House could take legal action against workers who violate it. It also asserts that the US government would be entitled to royalties from disclosing information, but it is not clear what that means."
"The document did not specify when the NDA would take effect. There will be a 30-day period for public comments once the rule is officially published in the Federal Register. Individual agencies would need to agree to implement the directive. This move is rooted in concerns that unauthorized disclosures of sensitive government information are disrupting agency operations and eroding trust across government, said OPM spokesperson McLaurine Pinover."
"The directive is the latest move by the Trump White House to exert more control over the flow of information to the general public, which has ranged from banning news outlets from the press room at the Pentagon to cutting funding for public media like PBS and NPR. It is already illegal to make public secret government information. Trump faced criminal charges in 2023 over allegations of mishandling confidential government documents."
"But the proposal expands the definition of confidential beyond the intelligence community's classifications. The NDAs would cover information relating to internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available and should not be disclosed under applicable law."
#federal-employment #non-disclosure-agreements #press-and-journalism #government-transparency #information-control
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