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DavidBrooker t1_j5qi9q6 wrote

Reply to comment by stellarblackhole1 in Playing Military Sim War Thunder May Get You Classed as a National Security Risk by Sorin61

Leaking classified documents is a crime.

Playing a game whose community members have leaked classified documents is not a crime.

By way of comparison, giving classified documents to the Washington Post is a crime. Receiving classified documents as a journalist at the Washington Post is not a crime. Reading the Washington Post is also not a crime.

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[deleted] t1_j5qtc3x wrote

[deleted]

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DavidBrooker t1_j5qu035 wrote

I just read through 18 USC 798 and it really does not seem to suggest that the receiving party / 'unauthorized person' is at fault, at least under that law. As I am not a lawyer, could you explain why that is and/or why a layperson's reading is misleading?

Edit: 18 USC 793 and 794 deal with simple possession of "defense information", but not necessarily classified information. Notwithstanding the fact that these descriptions may have significant overlap, is it through this mechanism that you're referencing? ie, are these terms de facto or de jure synonymous, or are they merely commonly mutually applicable?

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