True or False: Information shall not be considered for classification unless its unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause damage to the national security.

True or False: Information shall not be considered for classification unless its unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause damage to the national security.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not specified
• D. Irrelevant

Answer: (A)

The important idea here is how classification is justified: only information whose unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause damage to national security gets restricted. That means the decision to classify rests on a credible risk that release of the information would harm national security, not on mere speculation or wishful thinking. This threshold guards against over-classification by requiring a real danger to national security if the information were disclosed. For example, a routine internal memo with no sensitive details would not meet the threshold, while detailed defense plans or intelligence sources likely would. The statement aligns with that standard, so it is true.

The important idea here is how classification is justified: only information whose unauthorized disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause damage to national security gets restricted. That means the decision to classify rests on a credible risk that release of the information would harm national security, not on mere speculation or wishful thinking. This threshold guards against over-classification by requiring a real danger to national security if the information were disclosed. For example, a routine internal memo with no sensitive details would not meet the threshold, while detailed defense plans or intelligence sources likely would. The statement aligns with that standard, so it is true.