Overview of the Privacy Act of 1974

Citation
U.S. Department of Justice, Overview of the Privacy Act of 1974 (2010 Edition) (full-text).

Overview
This Overview was prepared by the Department of Justice's Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties (OPCL). It is a discussion of the Privacy Act's disclosure prohibition, its access and amendment provisions, and its agency recordkeeping requirements.

Tracking the provisions of the Act itself, the Overview provides reference to, and legal analysis of, court decisions interpreting the Act's provisions. The Overview is not intended to provide policy guidance, as that role statutorily rests with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). However, where OMB has issued policy guidance on particular provisions of the Act, citation to such guidance is provided in the Overview.

The 2010 edition of the Overview was issued electronically and sent for publication in February 2010 and includes cases through November 2009. The Overview is scheduled to be revised again in 2012.