Federal Privacy Rights

Here's a list of federal privacy laws that newspapers should remember:

1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
Prohibits interception of wire or oral communications without a court order. Interception can take place, however, if the interceptor is (1) a switchboard operator or communications company employee checking mechanical or service quality, (2) a Federal Communications Commission employee or (3) a party to the conversation, or a person who has the consent of a party to the conversation. The act also prohibits the manufacture, distribution, possession and advertising of devices primarily useful for the surreptitious interception of wire or oral communications.

1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act
Prohibits credit agencies from disclosing information to anyone but customers, and requires them to allow individuals to see their own files and make corrections.

1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
Requires schools to let students see their records and make corrections. Also puts limits on disclosures of information to third parties.

1974 Privacy Act
Click here for the full text of this act.

Requires federal agencies, except where otherwise exempted by law, to allow individuals to see and have an opportunity to amend any records kept on them. The act also requires agencies to obtain an individual's consent before using information gathered for one purpose for another purpose.

1978 Right to Financial Privacy Act
Imposes limits on the disclosure by banks of customers' financial records. Requires police to meet a standard of relevance before obtaining such records.

1980 Privacy Protection Act
Prohibits police from searching press offices without a search warrant if no one in the office is suspected of committing a crime.

1986 Electronic Communications Act
Broadens the protections of the 1968 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act to include virtually any type of electronic communication, including computer data transmissions, electronic mailboxes, cellular phones and fiber-optic transmissions. The act does not protect the radio portion of a cordless telephone call.

1988 Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act
Sets standards for federal computer-matching programs, with the exception of matches performed for "statistical, law enforcement, tax and certain other purposes." Agencies are required to specify in writing the nature of the matching program, its specific purpose and its expected results. Agencies are prohibited from taking adverse action against an individual without independently verifying the information resulting from the matching program.

1988 Video Privacy Protection Act
Prohibits video rental stores from disclosing which films a customer has rented or bought. The stores can continue to sell mailing lists, but must give the customer an opportunity to refuse to be on the mailing list.

Source:
Marshall, Patrick G. "Your Right to Privacy." Editorial Research Reports (Congressional Quarterly). January 20, 1989. p. 33.)

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