Privacy Program

The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a), enacted in 1974, established controls over what personal information the Federal government collects and how it uses or discloses that information. The Privacy Act has four basic objectives that the Department of the Interior (DOI) is committed to fulfilling to the greatest extent possible:

1. To restrict disclosure of personally identifiable records maintained by agencies;
2. To grant individuals increased rights of access to agency records maintained on them;
3. To grant individuals the right to seek amendment of agency records maintained on themselves upon a showing that the records are not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete; and
4. To establish a code of "fair information practices" that requires agencies to comply with statutory norms for collection, maintenance, and dissemination of records.

Privacy Policies and References: DOI and Federal privacy policies and privacy-related resources.

Privacy Impact Assessments: Official PIAs and Adapted PIAs for DOI Bureaus and Offices.

Privacy Act Systems of Records Notices: The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish notice of its systems of records in the Federal Register. This notice is generally referred to as a system of records notice (SORN).

Privacy Act Requests:  Requesting records under the Privacy Act.

Privacy and Civil Liberties: The Department issued the DOI Privacy Policy for the Information Sharing Environment to ensure the protection of information privacy and the legals rights of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents while meeting the goal of enhanced information sharing.

Privacy Reports: Privacy compliance reports.

Privacy Contacts: Departmental and Bureau/Office Privacy Officers.

For questions regarding the Departmental Privacy Program, please contact:

Departmental Privacy Officer
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Room 7112
Washington, D.C. 20240
202-208-1605