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How Many Twittering Politicians Does It Take to Threaten National Security?

Just one, as we learned a few weeks ago in Congressional Quarterly, which reported that Rep. Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Republican and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, regularly Twittered details of his congressional delegation’s visit to Iraq, details that were supposed to be kept secret.
With Twittering politicians on the rise, should we be worried about more national-security threats?
A U.S. Army intelligence report labeled Twitter a “potential terrorist tool” months before Hoekstra’s careless tweets. But as we’ve written previously, banning “potentially dangerous” internet technology is usually more trouble than it’s worth. (But how about mandatory security filters for politicians’ Twitter accounts? Possible code-name: “Sitters.”)
Of course, if Twitter doesn’t find a way to start making money off its users, the problem may take care of itself.


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