Back to Top 3. Federal agencies and employees are encouraged to maintain open communication with the public, recognizing the increased authority brings a new level of responsibility to each employee to use this forum wisely in serving the interests of the public. There will be no charge to users for accessing any home page or associated pages on the USDA Web network. Agencies may charge for providing data or information discovered through browsing the USDA Web network, but these charges may not exceed the marginal cost of dissemination. Only public information will be maintained on the home page or made accessible through links to other Web pages.
Security is a major consideration in the implementation of any open, public access system.
The extent to which the system is protected with firewalls and other isolation techniques must be included in the planned approach for implementing a home page. Agency security officers must be consulted in the design, implementation, and operation of home pages and associated links to other systems. See additional security references in Section 3. USDA employees establishing personal home pages accessible by the public must follow the guidelines outlined in this regulation. Back to Top 4.