“The Department of Homeland Security has taken aggressive measures to protect critical infrastructure across the country,” said a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman. “We discourage Web posting of detailed information about critical infrastructure. This information is not helpful to our ongoing efforts to protect the American people and our nation’s infrastructure.”

When you read that, do you nod your head in silent agreement, or do those kinds of statements make you nervous? Would you change your opinion if you knew that this was concerning documents and information freely available on the Web? This story describes how the government approached the owner of Cryptome.org, concerned over maps and other information published on Cryptome regarding the 2004 Democratic National Convention. “The agents, according to Young, stressed they knew that nothing on the site was illegal. Young added: ‘They said, ‘What we’d like you to do, if you’re approached by anyone that you think intends to harm the United States, we’re asking you to let us know that.’”

More and more, thanks in large part to the Homeland Security folks, freedom of information is equated to aiding and abetting the enemy. To extend that thought to its natural conclusion, freedom itself makes us vulnerable to our enemies. With the Internet still fairly new and unregulated, restrictions on our freedom to publish information there could be a first step in restricting freedom of the press across the board. Or is our democracy strong enough to reign in those to whom freedom is just another word for everything left to lose?