# Can I post a link to the Wikileaks stolen-CIA material site? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 9, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779 "2017-03-09T17:34:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2017, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/1 "2017-03-09T17:34:53Z")
See query. At the risk of duplicated effort, I just OP’d in GQ, more generically, the question as a trigger to **[Forbidden fruit: On the legality of tech companies using stolen CIA crpto/malware data](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=821148)**. Although I think glints from this ATMB query may be helpful there, I’m asking here to help elucidate THE SD/Chicago Tribune (if it comes to that, and I have no idea) POLICY ONLY on linking to sites, addresses, or simple info on unsuitable sites/topics. A link to “Buy and sell your laptops–amazing bargains!” exchange, where the items are known to be stolen, is probably not even allowed in a spoiler. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/2 "2017-03-10T22:32:21Z")
_Qui tacet consentire videtur._ ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/3 "2017-03-10T22:45:50Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > _Qui tacet consentire videtur._ I don’t think that would even begin to apply unless you have also PM’ed this request to the mods and given them a chance to see it, discuss it amongst themselves, and respond. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/4 "2017-03-11T00:02:52Z")
No offense intended here but just some constructive criticism. That OP reads like it was written by Howard Cosell on mescaline. Why not just ask the question in the simplest way possible? If parsing the OP didn’t require unneccessary mental gymnastics it might get a quicker reply. I don’t know the SDMB policy but in general viewing stolen documents that have already been widely released and are available to everyone and are in the public interest isn’t beleived to be illegal by legal scholars. [George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley:](https://jonathanturley.org/2016/10/17/cnn-it-is-illegal-for-voters-to-possess-wikileaks-material/) > [@](#): > > It is true that possession of stolen items is a crime and documents can be treated as stolen items. However, this material has already been released and it is doubtful that downloading widely available material (particularly in a matter of great public interest) would be seen as prosecutable possession. Whoever had original possession has released them widely to the public like throwing copies out a window by the thousands. Whatever crime is alleged, it will be directed at the original hacker and not the public. Just downloading and reading public available material is unlikely to be viewed as a crime unless you use material to steal someone’s identity or commit a collateral crime. Otherwise, possession of the Pentagon Papers would lead to the arrest of tens of thousands of citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/5 "2017-03-11T00:04:30Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I don’t think that would even begin to apply unless you have also PM’ed this request to the mods and given them a chance to see it, discuss it amongst themselves, and respond. He waited more than 24 hours before bumping a perfectly reasonable question. If there is any discussion among the mods, they should have posted that and asked for time to conclude the discussion. But I don’t understand why that would be needed. There have been many such leaks and sites created in the past. If no policy already exists on the question, then that’s a huge mark against the mods. So this doesn’t look good either way. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/6 "2017-03-11T00:23:44Z")
Hold on while I contact the team of lawyers that we have on retainer. Last year was such a banner year they owe us some pro-bono work to make a determination. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/7 "2017-03-11T03:52:16Z")
If it’s just something like the overall vault 7 cache a link isn’t all that useful since it’s such an easy search. A spoiler box would be useful even if the board is fine with the link. I’m retired but I was still in and mobilized when the Manning links were posted. We received the memo reminding us that the information was still classified and not allowed on unclassified systems. I wouldn’t have worried too much about getting in trouble when/if the monitoring picked up the data on my computer from even an inadvertent click. It would have been serious ass pain both dealing with the investigation and having my computer plucked up for however long it took to securely wipe everything. On a NSFW level for those working with or part of the US government this could be a link that pegs the meter. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/8 "2017-03-11T08:32:44Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Hold on while I contact the team of lawyers that we have on retainer. Last year was such a banner year they owe us some pro-bono work to make a determination. The OP [already posted the link](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20057473&postcount=9) 2 minutes after their last post to this thread. So you might tell them “Need Answer Fast” I honestly would be surprised if there was any problem linking to wikileaks. Just mentioning the name is pretty much linking to it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/9 "2017-03-11T13:57:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > If no policy already exists on the question, then that’s a huge mark against the mods. I’m glad someone is keeping score. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/10 "2017-03-11T18:37:48Z")
Ed has given his blessing to a link to Wikilinks-published documents. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/11 "2017-03-11T22:43:05Z")
Dopers who are federal government employees may wish to bear in mind that it is a violation of our terms of employment to view classified material, even when posted publicly. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2017, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/12 "2017-03-12T04:14:59Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Dopers who are federal government employees may wish to bear in mind that it is a violation of our terms of employment to view classified material, even when posted publicly. … As well as anyone else who has ever held a security clearance issued by the US government. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-post-a-link-to-the-wikileaks-stolen-cia-material-site/781779/13 "2017-03-13T02:33:49Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > … As well as anyone else who has ever held a security clearance issued by the US government. Ever? Would I be in trouble because of the Confidential clearance that I had in the summer of 1982.