Primer on the Privacy Act of 1974

When Congress passed the Privacy Act of 1974, it wanted the government to treat individuals fairly when collecting data about them. The law does this by:

1. Making agencies responsible for managing identifiable records fairly and protecting them from being used or shared without authorization.
2. Granting rights to individuals, like the right to know what records the government has about them, to see those records, request amendments, and take legal action.

The Privacy Act is more than just a law about who can see a file. Fair ness in every aspect of managing records about individuals is woven into the law. The Act regulates covered information throughout its lifecycle. This means it controls the agency’s collection, maintenance, use, disclosure, and eventual archiving or disposal of records.

This Primer provides a basic guide to the principles and protections in the Privacy Act. It is not legal advice and does not discuss every provision. It should give you an understanding of where the Privacy Act protections are strong and where they are weaker.