Citation[]
Office of Technology Assessment, Electronic Record Systems and Individual Privacy (June 1986) (full-text).
Overview[]
This report was prepared by the Office of Technology Assessment at the request of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice. This report was the third component of the OTA assessment of “Federal Government Information Technology: Congressional Oversight and Civil Liberties. The first component, Electronic Surveillance and Civil Liberties (full-text), was published in October 1985, and the second, Management, Security, and Congressional Oversight (full-text), was published in February 1986.
Major areas addressed[]
This report addressed four major areas: (1) technological developments relevant to government record systems; (2) current and prospective federal agency use of electronic record systems; (3) the interaction of technology and public law relevant to protecting privacy; and (4) possible policy actions that warrant congressional attention, including amendment of existing laws such as the Privacy Act of 1974 and establishment of new mechanisms such as a Data Protection Board or Privacy Protection Commission.