Yeah, but the real fun comes when it comes to technical information.
There was a scare several years ago that it would muzzle blogs and forums discussing firearms and ammunition.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/nr...rticle/2565762

It takes a lawyer to try to explain it. I work for a company that makes some items that can be classed by ITAR.
Can't pass data to a foreign national, or a US citizen who works for a foreign national.
Even if the info is on the web, you can't point them to it; that would be a ITAR violation.

I have to take a mandatory two-hour refresher training module every year.
Every scenario can cause a violation. The upshot is any foreign contact needs to be run past the company "export control experts".

Even if an item is not ITAR, it still may be controlled under the Department of Commerce as "dual-use".
The module likes to use the example of a valve. You can only export the valve in certain configurations.
It the valve has a corrosive chemical-resistant coating, it might be controlled: it could be used to for chemical weapons or nuclear fuel processing, ...
That technology is useful for the military: it is easy to decontaminate items painted with CARC.
Sometimes, the reasoning of why an item is controlled seems very contorted.