The Privacy Act

The Privacy Act, passed by Congress in 1974, establishes certain controls over what personal information is collected by the federal government and how it is used. This law guarantees three primary rights:
1. the right to see records about oneself, subject to the Privacy Act’s exemptions;
2. the right to amend a nonexempt record if it is inaccurate, irrelevant, untimely, or incomplete; and
3. the right to sue the government for violations of the statute, such as permitting unauthorized individuals to read your records.

The Privacy Act also provides for certain limitations on agency information practices, such as requiring that information about an individual be collected from that individual to the greatest extent practicable; requiring agencies to ensure that their records are accurate, relevant, timely, and complete; and prohibiting agencies from maintaining information describing how an individual exercises his or her First Amendment rights unless the individual consents to it, a statute permits it, or it is within the scope of an authorized law enforcement investigation. The Defense Privacy and Civil Liberties Office is responsible for implementation of the Department of Defense (DoD) Privacy Program.