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localId
7341049
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Statement by the President on the Privacy Act of 1974 [Ford Speech or Statement]
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doc
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document
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1
Source metadata
id
7341049
sourceUrl
contentType
document
title
Statement by the President on the Privacy Act of 1974 [Ford Speech or Statement]
citationUrl
collections
White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
subjects
Legislation
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7341049
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item
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29
logicalDate
1975-09-29
month
9
year
1975
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description
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nara-archive
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1
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document
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e0aedfe537804a36
ocrText
Digitized from Box 16 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 1975
Office of the White House Press Secretary
THE WHITE HOUSE
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
The Privacy Act of 1974 took effect on Saturday,
September 27, 1975, a date marking a milestone in the
protection of individual privacy for every American.
The reason this Act is important became apparent to
me when I was Vice President and chairman of the Domestic
Council Committee on the Right of Privacy. Last January,
I was pleased to sign this bill as President because it
represents a major first step in safeguarding individual
privacy.
The need for a Privacy Act is manifestly clear: Over
the years, Federal agencies have amassed vast amounts of
information about virtually every American citizen. As
data-collecting technology increased, it made administrative
sense to combine much of this information in computerized
data systems where it could be retrieved instantly at the
push of a button. This fact in itself raised the possibility
that information about individuals could be used for purposes
outside the constraints of law and without the prior knowl-
edge or consent of the individuals involved.
The worthwhile programs of human assistance for which
this individual information is collected are vital to
millions of Americans. They cannot be ended. But at the
same time, we have a clear responsibility to erect reasonable
safeguards to ensure that information collected is used
solely for the purposes intended.
The Privacy Act, though experimental, makes a long
overdue start to erect these safeguards. It requires
Federal agencies to:
-- Allow individuals to examine records pertaining
to them and establish procedures for correcting those
records;
-- take steps to ensure the accuracy, timeliness and
security of records that concern individuals and to limit
records-keeping to necessary and lawful purposes.
This Act also provides special safeguards whenever the
rights of citizens to free speech and expression are involved.
Before this Act, even the Federal Government did not
know what information it kept about individuals. The Act,
therefore, required Federal agencies to first inventory
their records-keeping systems and identify those which
contained information about individuals and to publish a
listing of these systems in the Federal Register. That
task is now complete.
more
2
The magnitude of Federal records-keeping has been far
greater than anyone imagined. There are more than 6,000
Federal record systems containing personal data about them.
Compliance with this Act will involve many people.
Every Federal official who either creates, keeps or uses
personal data has responsibilities under this Act. I urge
every member of the Executive Branch to reexamine the record
systems in their custody and determine if all are necessary.
Keeping only an essential minimum of these records is the
most effective protection we have against further incursions
by the Federal Government into the private lives of Americans.
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