Privacy Act

Federal Agencies' Implementation Can Be Improved Gao ID: GGD-86-107 August 22, 1986

In response to a congressional request, GAO examined federal agencies' implementation of the Privacy Act of 1974, which protects personal privacy. GAO specifically examined: (1) the roles of agency Privacy Act officers; and (2) agencies' adherence to the act's provisions and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines.

GAO found that: (1) approaches to implementing the act's regulations varied widely among the agencies; (2) agencies often failed to establish clear lines of responsibility and accountability for the act's functions; (3) agency Privacy Act officers had limited responsibilities, training, and resources to ensure compliance with the act; and (4) agencies need to improve adherence to OMB guidelines relating to activities, such as computer matching programs, risk assessments, evaluations, and training.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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