Information About the Privacy Act

For every individual the federal government accumulates a wide range of information. For instance if you serve the federal agency or are in the military then your information will be recorded. In case you have applied for any federal benefits like student loan or benefits granted by the government then your information gets filed. Even a person who has paid income tax or has a social security number finds his/her details recorded.

Privacy Act: Definition

The Privacy Act was passed by Congress in the year 1974. This act ascertains few limits as to what records can be accumulated by the federal government. It basically consists of three primary rights:
 

1. The right of seeing records of himself or herself which is subject to the act’s exemption.
2. The right of changing records in case it’s incorrect or not relevant or not complete.
3. The right of suing the government in case of any violation of the law, for e.g. granting permission to any unknown or unauthorized person to read or go through your records.

The Privacy Act also offers limitations on agencies related information and the practices related to it. For e.g. an agency can try to get as much information as possible from the specified individual. In case the person changes his or her information the records cannot be maintained by the agencies without taking the consent of the person. If this is done the agency will fall under the scope of endorsed law enforcement investigation.

Learn more about exemptions pertaining to the Privacy Act of USA of USA from:
http://www.justice.gov/oip/foia_updates/Vol_V_2/page6.htm.

Privacy Act Information

The Privacy Act of 1974 is relevant to records which are stored and maintained by agencies in the administrative branch of the federal government. It is applicable only when the records can be retrieved by using specific credentials like a person’s name, social security number or some other generic personal identifier. It does not apply to normal records that are maintained by agencies or organizations and cannot be fetched by a specific personal identifier.

In case if you have a huge interest on this act then it is recommended that you go through the whole of it. In that scenario you can click on the link www.justice.gov/oip/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/index.html and go through the reference materials related to the act. Even you can click on http://www.archives.gov/foia/privacy-act/ to learn more on the Privacy Act.

You can write to the following address to know more on the Privacy Act:

The National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001

In case you want to contact through telephone there is a toll free number which is 1-866-272-6272. You can call this number and place your queries accordingly.

Privacy Act: Change of Records

In this scenario you can always write to the officials of the agency for a change in the documents related to your personal details. You should provide them with all valid and genuine documents that support your statement. The officials will contact you in case they need more proofs or related documents. In case your appeal for change has been denied then you have the right to question them in a proper manner. In that scenario you can always approach the court and the agency will provide you with valid statements so that a judge can review them.