privacy laws

Those federal and state statutes which prohibit an invasion of a person's right to be left alone (e.g. to not be photographed in private), and also restrict access to personal information (e.g. income tax returns, credit reports); and overhearing of private communications (e.g. electronic surveillance). Some provide for equitable relief in the form of injunction to prevent the invasion of privacy while others specifically call for money damages and some provide for both legal and equitable protection.

See e.g. Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C.A. No. 1681n-p).

See also privacy, right of.

The federal Privacy Act (5 U.S.C.A. No. 552a) provides for making known to the public the existence and characteristics of all personal information systems kept by every Federal agency. The Act permits an individual to have access to records containing personal information on that individual and allows the individual to control the transfer of that information to other Federal agencies for nonroutine uses. The Act also requires all Federal agencies to keep accurate accountings of transfers of personal records to other agencies and outsiders, and to make the accountings available to the individual. The Act further provides for civil remedies for the individual whose records are kept or used in contravention of the requirements of the Act. Breach of privacy is knowingly and without lawful authority:

(a) Intercepting, without the consent of the sender or receiver, a message by telephone, telegraph, letter or other means of private communications; or

(b) Divulging, without the consent of the sender or receiver, the existence or contents of such message if such person knows that the message was illegally intercepted, or if he illegally learned of the message in the course of employment with an agency in transmitting it. Kansas Criminal Code 21-4002.

See eavesdropping

- wiretapping