Redress

U.S. federal agencies
With regard to U.S. federal agencies, the term redress generally refers to an agency’s complaint resolution process, whereby individuals may seek resolution of their concerns about an agency action. Specifically, in the privacy context, redress refers to processes for handling privacy inquiries and complaints as well as for allowing citizens who believe that agencies are storing and using erroneous information about them to gain access to and correct that information.

The Privacy Act of 1974 requires that all agencies, with certain exceptions, allow individuals access to their records and the ability to have inaccurate information corrected. Several other federal laws also direct senior privacy officials at specific agencies to provide redress by ensuring that they have adequate procedures for investigating and addressing privacy complaints by individuals. Several laws also provide for attention to privacy in a broader context of civil liberties protection.