Privacy Act of 1974
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The Privacy Act of 1974 or simply Privacy Act is a federal law passed in 1974 regulating the collection and use of personal information by federal executive agencies. It was signed into law by President Gerald Ford at the end of 1974 following the Watergate scandal and growing concerns over the government's use of computers to collect and store the personal information of American citizens.[1][2]
Background
The Privacy Act of 1974 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974. It took effect on September 27, 1975. According to a 2010 overview of the act produced by the U.S. Department of Justice, "In 1974, Congress was concerned with curbing the illegal surveillance and investigation of individuals by federal agencies that had been exposed during the Watergate scandal; it was also concerned with potential abuses presented by the government’s increasing use of computers to store and retrieve personal data by means of a universal identifier — such as an individual’s social security number."[2]
Legislative history
A 2015 overview produced by the U.S. Department of Justice described the legislative history of the Privacy Act as follows:[1]
| “ | The Act was passed in great haste during the final week of the Ninety-Third Congress. No conference committee was convened to reconcile differences in the bills passed by the House and Senate. Instead, staffs of the respective committees – led by Senators Ervin and Percy, and Representatives Moorhead and Erlenborn – prepared a final version of the bill that was ultimately enacted.[3] | ” |
| —U.S. Department of Justice, "Overview of the Privacy Act of 1974" (2015)[1] | ||
Provisions
According to a summary of the Privacy Act from the website of the U.S. Department of Justice, the act regulates the collection and utilization of personal information by federal executive agencies:[4]
| “ | The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, establishes a code of fair information practices that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies. A system of records is a group of records under the control of an agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifier assigned to the individual.[4][3] | ” |
According to the same source, the act requires agencies to publish public notices about their records systems in the Federal Register. It also provides for individuals to seek access and amendendment to their records, and, except in certain exempt cases, prohibits the disclosure of personal information without an individual's consent:[4]
| “ | The Privacy Act requires that agencies give the public notice of their systems of records by publication in the Federal Register. ... The Privacy Act prohibits the disclosure of a record about an individual from a system of records absent the written consent of the individual, unless the disclosure is pursuant to one of twelve statutory exceptions. The Act also provides individuals with a means by which to seek access to and amendment of their records, and sets forth various agency record-keeping requirements.[4][3] | ” |
Exemptions
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Privacy Act provides exemptions from its protections for the following agencies and uses of information:[2]
| “ |
|
” |
| —5 U.S.C. § 552a(b)[2] | ||
Amending statutes
Below is a list of subsequent laws that amended provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974:[2]
- Computer Matching and Privacy Act (1988)
- Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Amendments (1990)
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 United States Department of Justice, "Overview of the Privacy Act of 1974," 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Justice Information Sharing, "Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a," accessed January 16, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 United States Department of Justice, "Privacy Act of 1974," last updated July 17, 2015
