NCJ Number
125152
Date Published
1990
Length
184 pages
Annotation
This guide instructs citizens on their privacy rights under current law and suggests how they can be protected.
Abstract
The introduction reviews the U.S. Supreme Court's case law pertinent to privacy rights as well as Federal law designed to provide citizen privacy in specified areas. The main body of the booklet is in a question-and-answer format. Part 1 consists of eight chapters that address the collection, access, and control of government information. Topics covered include the Federal Government's information practices and the Privacy Act, access to and correction of government records, criminal justice records, social services records, social security numbers, electronic communications, and school records. Citizen privacy rights are reviewed for each of the aforementioned areas. Part 2 contains six chapters on topics related to personal information and the private sector. The chapters cover employment records, monitoring, and testing; credit records and consumer reports; financial and tax records; medical and insurance records; viewing and reading records; and personal data accessible to private detectives. Appended sample letter requesting information from personal government records and a sample letter of appeal.