[gtirloni]

I think you missed the joke. The first paragraph clearly says it's "top secret" and "confidential", so even though it was published by the Spiegel, it's not public information. Got it?

I know, it only makes sense in NSA's distorted rhetoric but if this is disputed in a court, that is what you're going to hear (that the information is not public, as in, it should not be disclosed).

[rbanffy]

> I know, it only makes sense in NSA's distorted rhetoric

Any US citizens propagating this information would probably be in big trouble precisely because of that. I am not sure about this, but IIRC, US citizens may even get in trouble for reading this information if they lack proper clearance.

[Karunamon]

A US citizen is under no legal obligation to do or not do anything with "classified" information. That is a standard that only its employees must observe.

I can go to Wikileaks and read Snowden and Assange-backed papers all day long. Govt. employees on the other hand aren't allowed to read that info even though it's already public (even at home, even on their own time).

[rbanffy]

Interesting. Thanks for clarifying. I wonder if those files can have other restrictions tied to them, such as being transported or copied between two computers.