The United States Privacy Act

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how the United States Privacy Act of 1974 has had a significant influence on the way businesses handle private information. The paper relates that although the Privacy Act was originally intended to apply only to government agencies, it now applies to non-governmental entities such as the healthcare system and commercial businesses. The paper concludes that because of this Act, individuals now have an expectation of personal privacy that organizations have an obligation to meet.

From the Paper:

"The United States Privacy Act of 1974 has had significant influence on the way businesses handle private information. Although it was originally passed in 1974, it has been amended numerous times and has acted as the foundation from which all other privacy related laws and policies have been built. Originally passed to apply to the information gathered by government agencies, today the act also governs the protection of private information gathered by numerous organizations, including government agencies and businesses. Recently, the Act's provisions have been most often applied in such areas as to information gathered on e-commerce business websites and in the healthcare services."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beaver, Kevin, Rebecca Herold. Practical Guide to HIPPA Privacy and Security Compliance. New York: CRC Press, 2003.
• Carter, Patricia I. HIPPA Compliance Handbook. New York: Wolters Kluwer Company, 2002.
• Casey, Timothy D. ISP Liability Survival Guide: Strategies for Managing Copyright, Spam, Cache, and Privacy Regulations. New York: Wiley, John and Sons, Inc., 2001.
• Cate, Fred, Wallison, Peter, Litan, Robert and Michael Staten. Financial Privacy, Consumer Prosperity and the Public Good. Brookings Institution Press, 2001.
• Clayton, Richard, Tomlinson, Hugh. Privacy and Freedom of Expression. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

More papers on The United States Privacy Act:

• Case Study # 108108 : "Privacy Protection Policies in Health Care"
• Comparison Essay # 114265 : "Online Privacy"
• Analytical Essay # 134468 : "Opposition and Support for the Patriot Act"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: