Question: does the privacy act of 1974 apply to corporations

title: Privacy Act of 1974
text: The Privacy Act of 1974 ( Pub. L. 93 -- 579 , 88 Stat. 1896 , enacted December 31 , 1974 , 5 U.S.C. § 552a ) , a United States federal law , establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection , maintenance , use , and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies . A system of records is a group of records under the control of an agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifier assigned to the individual . The Privacy Act requires that agencies give the public notice of their systems of records by publication in the Federal Register . The Privacy Act prohibits the disclosure of information from a system of records absent of the written consent of the subject individual , unless the disclosure is pursuant to one of twelve statutory exceptions . The Act also provides individuals with a means by which to seek access to and amendment of their records and sets forth various agency record - keeping requirements . Additionally , with people granted the right to review what was documented with their name , they are also able to find out if the `` records have been disclosed '' ... and are also given the rights to make corrections . 

Answer: answer: The Privacy Act of 1974 establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection , maintenance , use , and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies .