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Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Keywords

Privacy Act of 1974, routine-use exception, federal data sharing, informational privacy, government surveillance, privacy law reform, data governance

Abstract

This Note examines structural weaknesses in the Privacy Act of 1974 and argues that the statute no longer provides meaningful safeguards for personal information held by federal agencies. Enacted in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, the Act was designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and individual control over government recordkeeping systems. However, two core features—the routine-use exception and the Act’s narrow remedial structure—have undermined these protections. The routine-use provision permits agencies to disclose personal records without individualized consent so long as the disclosure is deemed “compatible” with the purpose of collection and published in the Federal Register, a form of constructive notice that rarely produces meaningful awareness. At the same time, judicial interpretation of the Act limits recovery to proven pecuniary harm, leaving most privacy violations without effective remedies. This Note argues that these structural features transform notice into authorization and create a legal environment in which unlawful or unexpected data sharing persists without accountability. To restore the statute’s original purpose, Congress should narrow routine-use disclosures and adopt affirmative remedies, including mandatory deletion of improperly shared data and the dismantling of systems built upon it.

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