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Difference between the Privacy Act and the Privacy Protection Act

Privacy Act, the—(U.S.) the 1974 statute that forbids government to disclose information about individuals and gives individuals the right to see, make copies of, and correct inaccuracies in their files:

  • Under a 1984 amendment to the Privacy Act, agencies may not rely on exemptions in the Privacy Act to withhold information that would otherwise be available.

Privacy Protection Act, the—(U.S.) the 1980 statute that makes it unlawful to search for or seize any material intended for dissemination to the public:

  • The actions of your office stand in disregard of the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, and your remarks ignore a bedrock principle of our democratic society—the role of a free and independent press.