Privacy Act of 1974 was enacted in December 31, 1974. It was enact as lawmakers’ answer to the kinds of abuses of privacy that occurred during the administration of Nixon. It forbids the revealing of certain government records without a prior written consent of the subjects of those documents. The law does not stop the disclosure of aggregate information, such as that collected by the U.S. Census Bureau or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The law allow information to be reveal in the course of business in a government agency or in the course of a police case or congressional investigations. The law does not apply to legislative and judicial branch of the government but applies specifically to federal agencies only.
