Civil Liberities

[Capt_Nemo]

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[4] GAO Releases Report on Government Use of Personal Information
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The United States General Accounting Office (GAO) recently released a
report prepared for the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs that
reviews how selected agencies handle personal information provided by
members of the public to obtain government services. The report
examines in detail how personal information collected through four
representative forms (from four different federal agencies) was
treated, and whether requirements under the Privacy Act and the
Computer Matching Act were appropriately followed. The four forms
were the Education Department's student aid request form, the
Department of Agriculture's standard loan form for farmers, the
Department of Labor's federal worker's compensation form, and a
passport application from the State Department. The report concludes
that, "Overall, agencies collected a substantial amount of personal
information of a wide variety of types, including personal[ly]
identifying information (names and Social Security numbers) and
demographic, financial, and legal data." It found that the procedures
for handling personal information collected were complex, involving
numerous processes, and that a wide range of personnel has access to
the information. In addition, the personal information collected was
shared extensively with other government entities, private
individuals, and organizations following "authorized procedures."

The Department of Education's Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA), filled out by a large number of students every year, is one
example of personal information being widely shared among different
agencies and entities under the "routine use" exemption of the Privacy
Act. For example, the Education Department gives information on
financial aid applicants to the Justice Department to see if they have
been convicted of any drug-related offenses; to the Department of
Veterans Affairs to check a veteran's eligibility status for student
aid; to the Selective Service System to make sure a male applicant has
registered for the draft; and to the Immigration and Naturalization
Service to see if an applicant is eligible for federal benefits. If an
applicant is delinquent on a federal loan, the application information
is sent to a private collection bureau. The Education Department also
sends the student's personal financial information to state agencies
to coordinate student aid. To qualify as a routine use, the agency
simply has to announce the use in the Federal Register.

A review of the report reinforces the need for more substantive
privacy practices beyond the formal notice requirements of the Privacy
Act of 1974 and the Computer Matching Act of 1988. The bi-partisan
Federal Agency Protection of Privacy bill (H.R. 4561), which passed
the House and is currently pending in the Senate, would require
agencies to conduct privacy impact analyses before and after passing
regulations concerning personal information. Commentators have also
suggested bringing the Privacy Act up-to-date to cover the new and
more intrusive types of information sharing and collection conducted
by federal agencies.

GAO Report, "Selected Agencies' Handling of Personal Information,"
available at:

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d021058.pdf


Rick...
"Never assume, for it makes an ASS out of U and ME."

A place to report scum,,,errrrrrrr I mean scams......
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