The Privacy Act of 1974 is found in Title 5 of the United States Code, Section 552a and has been in effect since September 27, 1975. The Act regulates the collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) maintained by federal agencies about U.S. citizens and lawfully admitted permanent residents. By establishing the Privacy Act, Congress intended to balance the government’s need to maintain information about individuals with the rights of individuals to be protected against unwarranted invasions of privacy. The Act also provides the following policy objectives:
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Restricts the disclosure of personally identifiable records maintained by agencies.
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Grants individuals expanded rights of access to agency records maintained on themselves.
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Grants individuals the right to seek amendments of agency records maintained about themselves upon a showing that the records are not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete.
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Establishes a code of “fair information practices” that requires agencies to comply with statutory norms for the collection, maintenance, and dissemination of records.
The Deputy Chief Management Officer (DCMO) serves as the Senior Agency Official for Privacy (SAOP) for the Department of Defense (DoD). The DSCA General Counsel serves as the Senior Component Official for Privacy (SCOP), who works in conjunction with the agency’s Privacy Act Officer to provide oversight and implementation of DSCA’s Privacy program. We are dedicated to protecting the personal privacy of all individuals by ensuring compliance with the Privacy Act, including DoD and other related privacy issuances.
The privacy issuances are available for viewing at the official DoD Website.
If you have any questions, please send us an email.
Privacy Compliance
The Privacy Act mandates the publication of System of Records Notices (SORN) in the Federal Register for newly created and revised systems of records regardless of whether the records are in paper or electronic format. A system of records exists when an agency collects, maintains, uses, or disseminate records about individuals that are retrieved by the individuals' name or other personal identifiers such as a social security number, biometric information, or any other unique identifier that can be linked to an individual.
DSCA publishes SORNs in the Federal Register for the following systems (click the appropriate link below):
Section 208 of the E-Government Act of 2002 requires federal government agencies to conduct a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for all newly developed or substantially changed technology that collects, maintains, or disseminates PII. A PIA is a method used to evaluate privacy in information systems and electronic collections. It also provides documented assurance that privacy issues have been identified and adequately addressed.
DSCA has conducted PIAs for the following Information Technology Systems (click the appropriate link below):
To report a privacy violation, file a complaint for further instructions.