Gaijin Community Guidelines: Military Restrictions
THESE MILITARY RESTRICTIONS CONSTITUTE AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE COMMUNITY GUIDELINES AVAILABLE AT https://legal.gaijin.net/communityguidelines, AND BOTH SHALL BE INTERPRETED AND APPLIED TOGETHER.
IN BRIEF: you are not allowed to publish any Classified information and Export-restricted military-technical data other than Classified information, as well as some other defense information stated in paragraph 2 (iii) below (collectively “Restricted Information"). Some of the points below may help you to determine whether the information you intend to post on Gaijin's Website(-s) is permitted for distribution or not (nonetheless, please read these rules carefully and completely):
(i) If the information derives from the military-technical documents or materials produced earlier than 30 years from the date of prospective publication, and/or from any documents, files, content, or other medium containing a confidentiality (classification) brief, then such information is most likely to fall under the definition of the Classified information unless there is clear and convincing evidence on duly fulfilled public disclosure (declassification).
(ii) With no regard if the information to be published by you constitutes Classified information or not, you must refrain from disseminating any information which could be reasonably regarded as Export-restricted military-technical data.
The information which is not specified in subparagraphs a), b), and c) of paragraph 2(ii) is likely to be restricted unless either of the following applies:
1) you provide the source of such information, and that source belongs to one of the types listed in subparagraph d) of paragraph2(ii);
2) you have exercised due diligence (e.g., carefully checking the relevant documentation or other materials), and after that, you are not in possession of any evidence that the information you are to publish is limited to distribution or other disclosure (for instance, usually the materials containing export-restricted data also contains relevant disclaimers or designations, or the restrictive character may directly lead from the context of such materials);
3) the information does not fall under the scope of the "military-technical data'' definition provided below; and/or
4) you provide other reasonable evidence that the information does not relate to Restricted Information.
For the purposes of this Military Restrictions Section, the "military-technical data" means any kind of information required for the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance, or modification of defense articles (military, vehicles, equipment, etc.), other than the Classified information as provided in paragraph2(i) below, information on unpublished military inventions and software specified in paragraph 2(iii) of these Guidelines. This data explicitly includes information in the form of blueprints, drawings, photographs, plans, instructions, or documentation.
1. General rule. The Users shall not contravene the applicable laws on state secrets (Russian Federation State Secrets Law as of July 21, 1993 No.5485-1, the Official Secrets Acts 1911-1989 in the UK, US President EO 13526 as of December 29, 2009, the Interministerial General Instruction № 1300 in France, etc.) or the export regulations (International Traffic in Arms Regulations in the USA, China’s Export Control Law, Russian Federal law “on state regulation of foreign economic activity” dated October 13, 1995 No. 157-FZ, etc.) by publishing any texts, documents, images, recordings, videos, files and other content which are (or relate to) military classified information, including any technical data, as well as any other types of government secrets or confidential information that are prohibited to disclosure, export or other distribution (“Restricted Information”), by virtue of a contract or law, in any of the countries of the world, and that have not been yet duly declassified or disclosed.
The User must consider these laws and regulations and take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with them. The User must be advised that unauthorized disclosure of the above-mentioned information may lead to criminal prosecution and responsibility.
2. Restricted Information. In particular, the following information shall be deemed Restricted Information as per these Guidelines:
i) Classified information. Documents with the corresponding level of classification (including but not limited to the "Secret," "Confidential," and "Classified" designations) may be published only if they have been duly declassified. As a rule, such documents are declassified after a certain time, after which free and safe use is allowed. However, please pay particular attention that the expiration of such a period does not lead to instant and automatic declassification (e.g., without direct orders from the competent public authorities).
Under any circumstances, the Users are only allowed to publish technical documents on Gaijin's Website which have been produced at least 30 years before the date of the publication unless otherwise provided by the applicable laws. Later produced documents are restricted from publishing on Gaijin's Websites if there is no clear and precise evidence of the declassification of such records.
ii) Military-technical data. Users are prohibited from publishing or other distributing military-technical data, the disclosure of which is subject to export restrictions by the laws or regulations of any country.
The Users are allowed to publish information or content which are either of the following:
а) Common technical information (for example, general scientific, mathematical, or engineering principles commonly taught in schools, colleges, and universities).
b) Marketing information published by or on behalf of the manufacturer (including publicly available advertising brochures, information from the manufacturer's websites, and other marketing announcements).
c) General system descriptions, including information on the basic functionality of a vehicle, weapon, or equipment derived from basic engineering principles and knowledge (e.g., the possibility to switch the range of the weapon's scope, the basic mechanics of the night-vision equipment, etc.).
d) Information or content that is based on, and cited with, the following sources:
(1) websites of the manufacturer of military equipment/weapons (and other products);
(2) official government websites and portals as well as other government sources (speeches, statements, letters, etc.) in relation to the document produced by this state;
(3) public conferences, forums, exhibitions, etc.;
(4) documents held in national public libraries;
(5) literature legally sold or otherwise available to anyone;
(6) legally published media materials;
(7) official publications, including scientific publications.
e) Information or content which do not fall under the foregoing categories but cannot be reasonably considered export-restricted military-technical data by virtue of applicable law.
f) Information that is otherwise allowed under this Military Restrictions Section.
iii) Other export-restricted information. Users are also prohibited from any distribution of the following articles:
a) any kind of information on unpublished military inventions;
b) military software, including those intended for design, implementation, test, operation, diagnosis, and repair of military vehicles, equipment, or other defense articles;
c) any other article restricted to export or other distribution according to paragraph 2 of these Guidelines.
3. User’s obligations regarding Restricted Information. If the User publishes the documentation which may be reasonably deemed as Restricted Information according to this Military Restrictions Section or has been earlier regarded as such, the User shall provide sufficient evidence that the information no longer falls within the scope of Restricted Information as defined above (e.g., a valid source from the list specified in paragraph 2(ii)(d) above, a statement on declassification, etc.), or otherwise prove the legality of their publication.
The Administration highly recommends specifying the source of each article published.
The User under no circumstances shall modify or change any of such technical documentation before the publication to misrepresent, deceive, or otherwise confuse the Administration and other Users regarding the classified or confidential status of such information (for example, through painting over or deleting the classified brief, adding marks of declassification without proper authorization, and other changing documents, including with the use of specialized software).
The User shall exercise due diligence whenever dealing with military or governmental documentation and data on Gaijin's Websites. That includes checking the document for classification designations or unauthorized changes made for, without limitation, concealing the fact of classification (for instance, blurring or deleting confidentiality disclaimers).
ATTENTION! If there are reasonable grounds to believe that you failed to comply with the rules of this Military Restrictions Section, or your post otherwise contains Restricted Information or other content prohibited to distribution, the Administration, at its sole discretion, may remove your post, and in some cases - suspend your Gaijin account up to permanent ban (e.g., if repeated or severe violation(-s) have occurred).
Last revised and effective: 18.04.2023