**GAO-08-603**                      Published: May 30, 2008. Publicly Released: Jun 18, 2008.                  

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## Highlights

Government agencies have a long-standing obligation under the Privacy Act of 1974 to protect the privacy of individuals about whom they collect personal information. A number of additional laws have been enacted in recent years directing agency heads to designate senior officials as focal points with overall responsibility for privacy. GAO was asked to (1) describe laws and guidance that set requirements for senior privacy officials within federal agencies, and (2) describe the organizational structures used by agencies to address privacy requirements and assess whether senior officials have oversight over key functions. To achieve these objectives, GAO analyzed the laws and related guidance and analyzed policies and procedures relating to key privacy functions at 12 agencies.

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## Recommendations for Executive Action

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## Topics

Government Operations

Federal agenciesFederal regulationsGovernment informationGovernment information disseminationInformation disclosureInformation managementInformation securityInformation technologyPolicy evaluationPrivacy lawPrivacy policiesRecords managementReporting requirementsRight of privacyPolicies and proceduresPersonal information