Privacy and Civil Liberties

Protecting Privacy and Civil Liberties

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is committed to protecting the privacy, civil liberties and other legal rights of the American people to the greatest extent possible consistent with the DOI mission and operational requirements for the collection, use and sharing of protected information in the information sharing environment (ISE).  DOI fulfills this responsibility through policy, monitoring, training, and oversight of the Department’s privacy and civil liberties operations to ensure compliance with federal statutory and policy requirements. 

DOI issued the DOI Privacy Policy for the Information Sharing Environment to ensure the protection of individual privacy while meeting the goal of enhanced information sharing in accordance with the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the Privacy Act of 1974, the E-Government Act of 2002, the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) Privacy Guidelines, and related laws and policies. 

As a participant in the ISE, DOI is required to provide redress in a manner that is compatible with legal authorities and mission requirements to individuals whose privacy, civil rights or civil liberties may have been affected in the ISE. This includes complaints related to privacy, civil rights and civil liberties protected by the U.S. Constitution or other laws, including complaints alleging racial, ethnic, or religious profiling, or retention of information that has been expunged or determined to have been illegally collected.  Redress inquiries will be investigated and erroneous information or deficiencies will be corrected to ensure data integrity and protections for individual privacy, civil rights and civil liberties.  DOI uses existing procedures for complaints or requests to amend records that implicate protected information, which are outlined in the DOI Privacy Act regulations at 43 CFR 2.246, in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and the DOI ISE Privacy Policy.

Individuals may submit a complaint or a request to correct erroneous information in writing to:

DOI ISE Privacy Official
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Room 7112
Washington, DC 20240

A request to amend or correct records must be submitted in writing and be signed by the requesting individual, must meet the requirements of 43 CFR 2.246, and include the following information:

• Name
• Address 
• Phone number(s) (indicate if a voicemail may be left at this number)
• Email address
• Contact information of any other person(s) representing the individual.
• The request must specifically identify the record(s) to be amended.
• The request must provide in detail reasons why the individual believes the record is not accurate, relevant, timely or complete; and must be accompanied by copies of documents or evidence in support of the request.
• The request must specify in detail the requested changes to the record; and must include proposed language if the change involves rewriting the record or adding new language to the record.

Resources

• DOI Privacy Policy for the Information Sharing Environment (402.85 KB)
• ISE Privacy Guidelines
• About the ISE
• The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA)
• The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a)
• DOI Privacy Act Regulations (43 CFR Part 2, Subpart K)

Contact Information

For questions regarding the DOI ISE Privacy Policy, please contact:

DOI ISE Privacy Official
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Room 7112
Washington, DC 20240
202-208-1605