| The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is often criticized for its privacy policies and practices, as it handles a vast amount of sensitive personal information. However, it is important to note how the DHS does attempt to protect personal privacy, in policy as well as practice. In addition to compliance with federal privacy legislation, such as the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and the Privacy Act, the Department consults with privacy professionals in order to evaluate new or potential programs, systems, technologies and certain rule-making procedures in order to appropriately handle personal information. This article takes a look at exactly how the Department of Homeland Security approaches privacy [...] Guided by privacy legislation and internal privacy policies, US federal government agencies and departments strive to protect citizens’ personal information and privacy rights. This article introduces the privacy practices of three federal departments: the US Census Bureau, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Department of [...] In 2007, the Department of Homeland Security an Office of Management and Budget, along with the Presidential Identity Theft Task Force, investigated information privacy and security practices in the United States Government. They developed a report called the Common Risks Impeding the Adequate Protection of Government Information (pdf)which included a list of ten common mistakes made by U.S. departments and agencies and provided recommendations for new practices to be implement to eliminate and reduce security [...] The Privacy Act of 1974 is a public sector law that regulates the use of personal information by the United States Government. Specifically it establishes rules, similar to the Fair Information Practice Principles that determine what information may be collected and how it may be used in order to protect the personal privacy of U.S. [...] The notion of freedom of information is one widely held around the globe. At present there are over 85 countries with freedom of information legislation in effect. The concept of freedom of information relates to the Fair Information Practice Principle of access which states that individuals have the right to view the records an entity maintains about them. However, due to security reasons it is impractical and dangerous to allow the public to access all federal records. In the United States, the Freedom of Information Act, passed in 1966 attempted to resolve the public’s right to access with the necessity of keeping certain records [...] | |
