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Is it safe to share this if a UK citizen? I.e. would a UK citizen be criminally liable under the Official Secrets Act or similar.


If it's a crime to share a draft of a law, you're no longer dealing with a liberal democracy, but a Saudi-style shithole, and it's time for that country to remove its government.


To be honest, what's the alternative? People sticking their head in the sand is what got you guys to this point.


The Official Secrets Act must be signed by you and pertains to 'official secrets' you may become party to as a servant of the Crown. It is not illegal to share this as a common civilian. Whether it is safe to do so is another matter entirely.


If the Official Secrets Act applies to you, it's an offence to break it even if you've not signed it.

http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summ...

edit: beat to it by a minute!


that's not true at all, Section 5 applies to everyone, and deals with passing on secrets you've obtained from people who have signed the act.

That said, and IANAL, this document is not covered because of 5(2) - there's no reasonable grounds for believing that releasing this document is damaging to national security. It's a draft, so does not describe any measures currently in effect, and the draft will be made public in a few days when it is submitted to parliament, before it has any effect.


>The Official Secrets Act must be signed by you

That's not true. It's a law not a contract; everybody is bound by it: http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summ...

>Do you have to sign the Official Secrets Act to be bound by it?

>It is not necessary for a person to have signed the Official Secrets Act in order to be bound by it.


Dangerous and wrong advice. I already knew what the other posters replied with. I was looking for more specific opinions about whether it would be safe to post this link on a Facebook type platform




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