Department of the Treasury 

Privacy and Civil Liberties Impact Assessment 

for the 

Department-wide Use of Third-Party Social
 

Media Websites for Public Engagement
 

April 18, 2023 

Reviewing Official 

Timothy Skinner
 Departmental Offices Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer
 
 

 

Section 1: Introduction 

The Department of the Treasury (“Department” or “Treasury”) uses third-party social media 

websites (“social media websites”) to engage in dialog with members of the public to promote 

transparency, improve public access to government information, and encourage public 

participation and collaboration. In accordance with the President’s Memorandum on Transparency 

and Open Government1 and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Open 

Government Directive Memorandum2

, Treasury upholds the three principles of transparency, 

participation, and collaboration to foster a culture of open government throughout the Department. 

Social media for public engagement includes the Department’s uses of the following types of social 

media websites: 

1)	 Third-party-owned social networking websites and applications that facilitate one-way 

and two-way interaction3 between official Treasury social media accounts and the public. 

Members of the public typically do not need accounts to view information made available 

on most Treasury official social media websites. However, Treasury users and public 

users must have accounts to use all the features associated with applications tailored to 

these specific websites. This type of social media includes, but is not limited to, 

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter; 

2)	 Third-party-owned applications and websites that disseminate video and image content. 

These social media websites include but are not limited to: YouTube and Flickr. For these 

social media websites, official Treasury users must have an account to post information 

to make it available to the public. Public users of these accounts typically do not need an 

account to see video or image on these social media websites. For public users to 

comment on Treasury webpages on these sites (when Treasury has not disabled the 

comment function), the public user may need an account; and, 

3)	 Treasury-owned websites that aggregate user posts from various social media websites 

when public users choose to engage with the Department through Treasury-generated 

hashtags. 

The Department is updating a previous Privacy and Civil Liberties Impact Assessment (PCLIA) 

for the Department-wide Use of Third-Party Social Media Websites for Public Engagement that 

was approved on February 3, 2016. This PCLIA sets forth the Department’s practices with respect 

to the use of social media websites for public engagement purposes. The PCLIA also analyzes the 

privacy risks associated with those practices; and describes the mitigation strategies the 

Department implements to protect personally identifiable information (PII) collected, maintained, 

and used when the Department engages with the public via social media. 

This PCLIA specifically provides the following information regarding Treasury’s use of social 

media websites: (1) the specific purpose of the use; (2) any PII that is likely to become available 

through this interaction; (3) any intended or expected use of PII collected; (4) sharing or disclosure 

1 Transparency and Open Government Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment

2 OMB Memorandum M-10-06, Open Government Directive 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-06.pdf

3 While all of social media websites facilitate two-way interactions with the public; there are some sites that 

Treasury has decided only to conduct unilateral interactions with the public, by disabling features such as the 

comment feature. These interactions are also covered by this PCLIA, as Treasury or the third-party website may 

change the settings of those sites at any time. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of the PII; (5) maintenance and retention of the PII; (6) security of the PII; (7) identification and 

mitigation of privacy risks; and (8) compliance with privacy requirements and other legal and 

policy requirements that support privacy. 

In accordance with OMB Memorandum (M) 03-22, OMB Guidance for Implementing the 

Provisions of the E-government Act of 2002 and M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of ThirdParty Websites4

, Treasury is required to conduct a PCLIA because the use of social media websites 

makes PII available to the Department. 

Section 2: Definitions 

Make PII Available. The term “make PII available” includes any agency action that causes PII to 

become available or accessible to the agency, whether or not the agency solicits or collects it. In 

general, an individual can make PII available to an agency when he or she provides, submits, 

communicates, links, posts, or associates PII while using the website or application. “Associate” 

can include activities commonly referred to as “friending,” “following,” “liking,” joining a 

“group,” becoming a “fan,” and comparable functions. 

Personally Identifiable Information (PII). The term “PII” as defined in OMB Memorandum M17-12 refers to information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, either 

alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. 

Because there are many different types of information that can be used to distinguish or trace an 

individual's identity, the term PII is necessarily broad. The definition of PII is not anchored to any 

single category of information or technology. Rather, it requires a case-by-case assessment of the 

specific risk that an individual can be identified. Non-PII can become PII whenever additional 

information is made publicly available – in any medium and from any source – that, when 

combined with other available information, could be used to identify an individual. 

Privacy and Civil Liberties Impact Assessment (PCLIA). A PCLIA is: 

(1) a process conducted to: 

a.	 identify privacy and civil liberties risks in systems, programs and other 

activities that maintain PII; 

b.	 ensure that information systems, programs and other activities comply with 

legislative, regulatory, and policy requirements; 

c.	 analyze the privacy and civil liberties risks identified; 

d.	 identify remedies, protections and alternative or additional privacy controls 

necessary to mitigate those risks; and 

e.	 provide notice to the public of privacy and civil liberties protection practices. 

(2) a document that catalogues the outcome of that privacy and civil liberties risk 

assessment process. 

Privacy Policy. The term “privacy policy” is described in OMB M-99-18, Privacy Policies on 

Federal Web Sites,

5 and is further explained in OMB Memorandum M-03-22. This term refers to 

a single, centrally located statement that is accessible from an agency’s official homepage. The 

privacy policy should be a consolidated explanation of the agency’s general privacy-related 

practices that pertain to its official website and its other online activities. 

Social media websites. For purposes of this directive, this term refers to non-governmental; third4 OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third Party Websites and Applications(June 25, 2010),
 

available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-23.pdf.
 

5 Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda_m99-18/
 
 

 

 

 

party owned and operated websites, applications, and web-based tools (some that may be 

embedded on the social media website by the third-party owner of the site) that allow the creation, 

exchange and tracking of user-generated content. Through social media, people or groups can 

engage in dialogue, interact, and create, organize, edit, comment on, combine, and share content. 

Treasury currently maintains an official presence on the following social media websites: 

Facebook, Flickr, Github, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube (each described in 

more detail in Section 3.1 below). 

Section 3: Overview 

3.1: Scope 

This PCLIA covers Treasury’s use of the following social media websites: Facebook, Flickr, 

GitHub, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. In addition to these Treasury-wide 

uses of social media, the following Treasury Departmental Offices currently use social media 

websites: the Office of Financial Research (OFR) and the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). 

Other Treasury bureaus that use social media are the Bureau of Engraving & Printing; Bureau of 

the Fiscal Service; Office of The Comptroller of The Currency (OCC); Internal Revenue Service 

(IRS); Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); the Office of the Special 

Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); and the United States Mint. 

This PCLIA does not cover the use of social media websites by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

IRS social media use is covered by specific IRS Privacy Impact Assessments and PCLIAs for each 

social media website and can be found on the IRS website.

6 This PCLIA also does not cover the 

use of social media websites by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). OCC social 

media use is covered by a specific OCC PCLIA and can be found on the OCC website. 

This PCLIA also does not cover information that individuals provide to Treasury via telephone, 

email,7 text message, instant message, or other methods of communication that do not involve 

social media for public engagement purposes. Therefore, Treasury’s collection, use, and disclosure 

of any PII as a result of those communications will be addressed separately in the PCLIA for the 

relevant Treasury system, in which the information is stored. 

Social Media Websites 

Treasury maintains social media accounts to engage in dialog that increases government 

transparency, promotes public participation, and encourages collaboration within the Department. 

Treasury maintains an official presence on many social media websites. Each of these social media 

websites has different account registration requirements (collecting varying degrees of PII) and 

different functions and options that account holders may use or enable to interact with other users 

on the website. Treasury has official accounts on the following social media websites. To verify 

whether the social media site you visit is an official Treasury or government site, please see the 

Federal Government Social Media Registry available here: https://www.usa.gov/verify-socialmedia. 

Facebook: Treasury maintains pages on Facebook, a social networking site that allows 

users to create personal profiles to connect with friends, co-workers, and others who share 

similar interests or who have common backgrounds. Members of the public who register 

for these accounts may also choose to create profiles in which they make the following 

information available to people in their network, or to the general public: detailed personal 

6 Available at: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Privacy-Impact-Assessments-PIA 7 Contact information records of individuals who choose to correspond with Treasury or join Treasury email list services is 

covered by Treasury System of Records Notice .017, Correspondence and Contact Information. 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/07/2016-26662/privacy-act-of-1974-systems-of-records 
 

 

 

 

information, including birthday, home address, telephone number, employment history, 

educational background, friends and acquaintances, and religious and other beliefs and 

opinions. Facebook also allows any user to establish a “page” to represent an organization, 

business, or public figure to disseminate information to users who choose to connect with 

them. These users can leave comments in response to information posted on a page. Profile 

information for these users may be made available to the administrators of these pages, 

depending on settings controlled by the user. According to Facebook, the site has over 

2.963 billion monthly active users, as of January 2023. 

Instagram: Treasury maintains pages on Instagram, a social networking service owned 

by Facebook that allows users to share photos and videos, tell visual stories, and promote 

products and services. Instagram offers both personal and business accounts. It is 

primarily a graphic platform rather than a text-focused one like Facebook. Members of 

the public who register for an Instagram account may post content, follow other account 

holders, and accumulate followers of their own. Account holders display a profile image, 

screen name, and other personal descriptive information they choose to provide about 

themselves, some, or none of which might contain personally identifying information. 

Accounts may be set to public or private. Users may comment on postings of other public 

account holders and may “like” others’ postings or comments. Account holders are able 

to see the screen name and profile image of their followers. The Instagram platform 

tracks and shows the number of views that posts receive. It also allows account holders 

to post polls, and to post stories that are visible to other site users only for a 24-hour 

period. According to Instagram, as of January 2023, Instagram has over 2.35 billion 

accounts worldwide active every month, and over 1.386 accounts active every day.” 

Flickr: Treasury maintains pages on Flickr, an image and video hosting website that allows 

users to share photographs within an online community. Treasury’s Flickr pages are 

publicly available and do not require users to have a Flickr account to view Treasury 

photographs. Users who choose to create Flickr accounts, must provide PII to Flickr such 

as full name, mobile phone number, birthday, and gender. Users must also have a Yahoo 

account to access their Flickr accounts. Users can then upload photos and videos from the 

web, mobile devices, home computers, etc. With permission from the individual Flickr 

account holder, other users can add comments, notes, and tags to the account holder’s 

collection of photos and videos. According to one estimate, as of January 2023, Flickr had 

over 112 million registered members and more than 3.5 million new images uploaded daily. 

GitHub: Treasury maintains pages on GitHub, a managed collaboration tool that makes 

software development, code collaboration, code review and code management possible for 

open source and private projects. GitHub offers plans for private repositories and free 

accounts, which are usually used to host open-source projects. Users can create an account 

by providing an email address to GitHub. Users can opt to add additional PII to their 

personal profile, including full name, location, and website. Users also have the option of 

leaving their profile blank. Users can review agency code and agencies can interact and 

access public source codes. Users can also use GitHub to manage technical IT projects and 

technical research code. According to GitHub, the site has 10 million users including 600 

thousand organizations, and hosts 26 million repositories. 

Google+: Treasury maintains pages on Google+, a social networking site that allows users 

to create personal profiles describing themselves and connect with friends, co- workers, 
 

 

 

 

and others who share similar interests or who have common backgrounds. Users can gain 

access to this service by receiving an invitation from a current Google+ user but must first 

have a Google account. These accounts require PII such as full name, birthday, gender, 

mobile phone number, alternate email address and location. Users can interact with other 

users through a variety of components such as “circles,” “huddles,” “hangouts,” and 

“sparks.” “Circles” allows users to set up smaller personalized social groups. “Huddle” is 

a tool for group chat for phones that is private to outside viewers. “Hangouts” is video chat 

and instant messaging. “Sparks” finds web items based on a user’s interests and shares 

those items in the user’s main account page. Photos can also be uploaded for sharing. 

According to Google’s official blog, there were 2 billion Google+ users as of January 2023. 

LinkedIn: Treasury maintains pages on LinkedIn, a professional networking site that 

allows users to create online resumes, connect with professional colleagues and classmates, 

and share relevant content. Users can create an account by providing their full name and 

email address to LinkedIn. Once an account is established, users can provide additional PII 

on their LinkedIn page at their discretion. Users can request to “connect” to other LinkedIn 

users to view their whole profile. Users can also view a sample of other user’s profiles 

without creating an account. Users can send personal messages, post research, or endorse 

another user for a certain skill. According to LinkedIn, it is the world’s largest professional 

network with 900 million members worldwide. 

Pinterest: Treasury maintains pages on Pinterest, a social networking site that allows users 

to visually share and discover new interests by posting (known as 'pinning') images or 

videos to their own or others' boards (i.e., a collection of 'pins,' usually with a common 

theme) and browsing what other users have pinned. Treasury’s Pinterest accounts are 

publicly available, and users are not required to have Pinterest accounts to see Treasury 

pins. Users can establish accounts through existing Facebook, Google, or Twitter accounts, 

or may provide information to create an account directly through Pinterest. As of March 

2023, Pinterest has over 450 million monthly active users. 

Twitter: Treasury maintains accounts on Twitter, a social networking site that allows users 

to share and receive information through short messages (no longer than 280 characters in 

length) that are known as “tweets.” Treasury’s Twitter accounts are publicly available. 

Users are not required to have Twitter accounts to see Treasury tweets. Twitter users can 

establish accounts by providing a limited amount of PII but may elect to provide additional 

PII if they wish. Users can post messages to their profile pages and reply to other Twitter 

users’ tweets. Users can “follow” other users as well— i.e., subscribe to their tweets. 

According to Twitter, it has 450 million monthly active users, sending 500 million tweets 

per day. 

YouTube: Treasury maintains pages on YouTube, a video-sharing site that allows users to 

discover, watch, upload, comment on, and share videos. Treasury’s YouTube postings are 

publicly available. Users do not need to set up an account to watch Treasury YouTube 

videos. Similar to Twitter, users can establish accounts on YouTube with only limited 

amounts of PII, but they may choose to provide more detailed information on their profile 

page. Users can comment on videos posted on a page either in written responses or by 

uploading their own videos. According to YouTube, the site has more than 2.56 billion 

monthly active YouTube users, and an average of 2,500 new videos are uploaded every 

minute, amounting to 183 hours of video content, with an average video length of 4.4 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

minutes. 

3.1Authority to Collect 

Executive Order (E.O.) 13571, Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer 

Service,

8 sets forth requirements for government agencies using technology to improve 

customer service to members of the public. Section 2 of the E.O. directs agencies to: (a) 

establish one major initiative that will use technology to improve the customer experience; and 

(b) establish mechanisms to solicit customer feedback on government services and use such 

feedback regularly to make service improvements. This E.O. grants Treasury the authority to 

use technology to engage with the public through the use of social media. 

In addition, the following memoranda provide guidance for Treasury to use social media
 

websites to engage with members of the public.
 

1) The President’s Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government, January 21, 2009;
 

2) OMB Memorandum M-10-06 Open Government Directive, December 8, 2009;
 

3) OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites, June 25, 

2010; and 

4) OMB Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, and 

Independent Regulatory Agencies, Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and 

the Paperwork Reduction Act, April 7, 2010. 

Section 4: Information Collection 

4.1 Information Made Available vs. Information Collected 

Information Likely to Become Available to Treasury Through Public Use of Treasury Social 

Media Pages 

For purposes of this PCLIA, Treasury distinguishes information the public makes available via 

social media using Treasury hashtags or posting on Treasury social media websites from 

information Treasury collects or uses for official purposes. In the context of Treasury’s social 

media use, the word “collection” refers to Treasury gathering or copying comments or other 

information members of the public post on a third-party website and storing and maintaining that 

information on a Treasury information system or in a paper file. 

Treasury limits the PII that it collects via social media to that which is relevant and necessary to 

the Treasury mission. Treasury does not actively encourage the public to submit PII on social 

media (and, in fact, discourages members of the public from posting it publicly), and may only use 

the minimum amount of PII that the Department receives to accomplish a purpose required by 

statute, regulation, or executive order.9 Treasury employees who manage the Department’s official 

social media websites do not proactively “friend” or “follow” a member of the public who uses 

the particular social media website (Treasury employees only “friend” other U.S. federal, state, 

local, and tribal government agencies) but may accept invitations to be “friended” and/or 

“followed” by public users. 

Social media websites allow members of the public to register for an account and share personal 

8 For more information, please visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press 

office/2011/04/27/executive-order-13571- streamlining-service-delivery-and-improving-custom 

9 OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Social media websites (June 25, 2010), available at 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-23.pdf. 
 

 

 

 

information within their personal and professional networks, with private companies, government 

agencies, and the general public. This information can include, but is not limited to: interests, 

birthdays, religious and political views, family members and relationship status, education and 

work, photos, alias, contact information (e.g., phone, email, and address).10 Treasury does not 

collect or have access to any information provided on these social media websites that is only made 

available by the user to the third-party that owns the social media website (i.e., certain registration 

information that the user does not otherwise make public on their account) or when users limit 

public access to information using the social media website’s privacy settings (e.g., where users 

can choose who is allowed access to certain information they post on their personal page on the 

site). 

Social media users may also choose to engage with Treasury by commenting on posts, “following,” 

“retweeting,” “liking,” using a Treasury generated hashtag, and “friending” a Treasury social 

media website. Through these interactions, a user can make PII available to Treasury on the social 

media website if they provide, submit, communicate, link, post, or associate PII while using the 

website. 

The amount of PII about public users made available to Treasury is limited but depends on the 

individual user’s privacy settings. For example, if an individual chooses to comment on a post on 

Treasury’s official social media webpage, that individual’s comment along with his or her 

username and photo likely will be displayed on the Treasury social media website, unless he or 

she has established privacy settings that block the publication of this information. Each social 

media website provides its own privacy policy, and while users are typically required to submit 

some PII during the registration process, Treasury does not solicit, collect, or even have access to 

this PII unless that same information is repeated by the user (outside the registration process) to 

the public elsewhere on the user’s personal page. 

Treasury also generally chooses to limit information the public posts on the social media website 

by disabling certain features that allow individuals to post comments (which may contain PII) on 

official Treasury pages on those sites. 

Information Treasury Collects 

Treasury collects only the minimum information necessary to carry out its mission. In most 

instances, Treasury does not collect the PII made available to it through social media. However, 

there are some limited circumstances when Treasury will collect publicly available PII from social 

media websites. Treasury also generally does not collect information from users who post or 

comment on, “like”, “follow,” and/or “friend” Treasury third party social media pages. This 

includes information from users who engage with Treasury through Facebook, Flickr, Google+, 

LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. 

On most social media websites on which Treasury maintains a webpage, account holders have the 

option to block public comment. This is important because when a member of the public can 

comment, they can inadvertently (or intentionally) include PII in their comments. Treasury 

generally opts to disallow comments when there is such an option, unless necessary to the purpose 

for the particular social media use. Therefore, on many Treasury third-party social media pages, 

there is no PII or other information available for Treasury to collect. On these sites, Treasury only 

engages in “one-directional” sharing with the public (i.e., Treasury sharing with the public). 

By contrast, some Treasury social media uses are designed to encourage public comment and 

engagement on particular issues on the public-facing website (e.g., GitHub). In these instances, 

10 See Section 3.1 of this PCLIA for a more detailed discussion of the types of PII that might be made available on 

social media websites. 
 

 

 

public comments are encouraged to generate discussion among visitors to the site. Merely allowing 

the public to comment on the third-party website is not, however, a collection of information unless 

Treasury takes the extra step of extracting, copying, or otherwise using that information from the 

third-party website for a mission-specific purpose (e.g., by Treasury responding publicly to the 

commenter on its social media webpage or through some other method of communication). Out of 

those limited situations where Treasury does allow the public posting of comments on its thirdparty social media webpages, there is an even smaller percentage of situations where Treasury 

collects and stores PII from these comments on Treasury systems (or paper files) or otherwise uses 

that information from the third-party website for a mission-specific purpose. When Treasury does 

collect this information, it only collects the minimum information necessary to carry out the 

Department’s mission or records management functions required by law. 

4.2 Relevant and Necessary 

The Privacy Act of 1974 requires that every federal agency, “maintain in its records only such 

information about an individual as is relevant and necessary to accomplish a purpose of the agency 

required by statute or by Executive order of the President.”11 The Privacy Act allows federal 

agencies to exempt certain records from this requirement if certain conditions are met. This 

includes issuing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to solicit public opinions on the 

proposed exemption and issuing a Final Rule after addressing any concerns raised by the public in 

response to the NPRM. It is possible for some, but not all, of the information used in a system or 

project to be exempted from the Privacy Act through the NPRM/Final Rule process. 

Treasury determined that the information it collects and maintains from social media websites is 

not covered by the Privacy Act, in part because Treasury does not maintain and retrieve that 

information “by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other 

identifying particular assigned to the individual.” Therefore, the Privacy Act does not apply. 

Treasury does not retain and store in a “system of records” (as defined in the Privacy Act) any of 

the comments published by users on Treasury social media webpages. This information, therefore, 

is not subject to the Privacy Act’s relevant and necessary provision, because it is not retrieved by 

a personal identifier. Nevertheless, Treasury evaluated the information collected from social media 

websites for public engagement purposes through the review and publication of Treasury Public 

Engagement Pages notice, 80 FR 36407 (2015)12 and this PCLIA. Treasury determined that the 

limited information the sites collect is both relevant and necessary to fulfill the requirements of 

E.O.13571. Treasury is collecting the minimum amount of information necessary to support its 

interaction with the public on social media. On some social media websites, Treasury uses options 

to limit interaction to one-way sharing between Treasury and the public (e.g., shutting off the 

function that allows the public to comment on the Treasury public webpage). For Treasury sites 

that do not disable the public comment function, Treasury cannot prevent a member of the public 

from posting PII using the website’s public comment capabilities. Treasury does not, however, 

extract and store this information in a system of records. 

11 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(1). 

12 For more information, please see: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/06/24/2015-15372/treasurypublic-engagement-pages 
 

 

 

 

 

4.3 Information Collection Risks and Mitigations
 

1)	 There is a risk that Treasury will collect more information than is necessary to carry 

out its social media purposes. 

Treasury mitigates this risk by determining whether information is relevant and necessary to 

a Treasury mission before collecting any PII on social media. Treasury does not collect PII or 

other information posted by the public to Treasury social media websites. Treasury 

continuously reviews its collection of PII for social media purposes to mitigate the risk of 

collecting more information than is necessary to carry out its mission-related purposes. 

Treasury also does not use its social media webpages to monitor individuals or groups of 

people. Although Treasury sometimes allows the public to provide feedback on its social 

media webpages by not disabling the comment function, Treasury does not control the content 

posted publicly by visitors to the social media site. Treasury also provides alternative email 

addresses or phone numbers the public can use to provide comments directly to Treasury. 

2)	 There is a risk that the individuals will not know what privacy policy or notice applies 

to the collection of their information. 

Treasury mitigates this risk by providing a link to the relevant Treasury privacy policy on all 

social media websites where PII may be posted by a member of the public. Treasury social 

media privacy policies provide information regarding: 

•	 The particular social media websites Treasury uses to engage with the public. 

•	 Whether information members of the public provide on the social media website 

is governed by an external third-party privacy policy. 

•	 When and how Treasury collects information from social media websites. 

Treasury also alerts visitors leaving Treasury websites for social media websites that PII 

collected from them via the link they just clicked is subject to the control of the website to 

which they are navigating and directs the visitor to review that website’s privacy policy to 

learn more about what it does with information collected on its site. These notices alert users 

that Treasury cannot control what third-party websites do with information the visitor chooses 

to publicly post on the third-party social media webpage. 

In addition to the notices above, Treasury published the Treasury Public Engagement Pages 

notice, 80 FR 36407 (2015) (covering “the New 10”) and this PCLIA to provide additional 

information to the public about Treasury’s collection, use, and maintenance of PII. 

3)	 There is a risk that individuals who visit Treasury’s social media webpages will not know 

about embedded links/applications on the social media website. 

Treasury provides notice to users who visit official Treasury owned and operated websites (as 

opposed to Treasury pages on third-party websites) when the website embeds a link to a social 

media website or application on the webpage. For example, Treasury websites notifies visitors 

who select links to social media websites that they are leaving the Treasury website and the 

protections of Treasury’s privacy policy. Visitors who select these links are also warned that 

they should review the privacy policy of the site to which they are being redirected. The 

applicable Treasury privacy policy is also linked at the bottom of the page most Treasury 

owned and operated websites. These policies further explain the effects of using links on 

Treasury owned and operated websites and navigating to non-government websites. 

Treasury does not expressly warn visitors to Treasury pages on third-party websites about 

tools or applications that are embedded on the website by the owner of the third-party website 
 

 

(e.g., Facebook). Members of the public should consult the social media website’s privacy 

policy to determine whether the owner of the website embeds its own applications or 

applications it purchased from others (e.g., analytics programs to monitor the number of 

visitors to the website) (over which Treasury has no control and receives no information). 

Treasury also links to the applicable Treasury privacy policy on all of its social media 

websites. Treasury privacy policies explain to the public that social media websites on which 

Treasury has an account are subject to a different privacy policy. They explain that the privacy 

and security policies of the social media websites apply to the public’s interaction with these 

sites. Treasury notifies the public in its policies that it does not control, moderate, or endorse 

the comments or opinions provided by visitors while the information is posted on these sites. 

4)	 There is a risk that individuals who do not have a social media account may not want 

to use social media or provide PII to engage with Treasury. 

Treasury mitigates this risk by providing individuals access to the same information Treasury 

posts on its social media accounts without setting up a social media account. All of the 

information Treasury provides on these sites is available on the applicable Treasury website. 

In addition, a visitor may view any of Treasury’s social media pages without registering with 

the social media website. For example, users can access Treasury's YouTube, Twitter, 

Facebook, and Flickr accounts by going to the Treasury.gov home page and clicking on the 

social hub. This allows a user to access the social media website without requiring a log in. In 

addition, members of the public can learn about Treasury’s activities and communicate with 

Treasury without having to go to third-party social media website by visiting the Connect with 

Us page on the Treasury website.13 If Treasury uses a third-party service to solicit feedback, 

the Treasury page on the social media website will also provide an alternative government 

email address where users can send feedback. The following is a list of Treasury components 

with alternative sites: 

•	 Departmental Offices Connect with Us 

o	 Making Home Affordable

https://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/pages/default.aspx 

o	 Office of Financial Research (OFR) www.financialresearch.gov; 

•	 Bureau of Engraving and Printing http://www.moneyfactory.gov/; 

•	 Bureau of the Fiscal Service https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/; 

•	 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
 

https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/;
 

•	 Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief 

Program (SIGTARP) only uses Twitter. All Twitter posts are sourced 

from information contained on www.SIGTARP.gov 

•	 U.S. Mint http://www.usmint.gov/. 

Unless they establish an account, however, members of the public who wish to visit 

Treasury’s social media webpages will not be able to use all of the functions (e.g., 

commenting, liking, sharing) made available to registered users. 

Treasury also provides a link to the appropriate privacy policy on its alternative websites. As 

13 For more information see, http://www.treasury.gov/connect/Pages/default.aspx 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

an alternative to posting their PII publicly on a Treasury page on a social media website, an 

individual may also choose to email, mail, or telephone Treasury directly to provide feedback 

or ask questions related to the webpage. The visitor is notified that he or she will be required 

to provide his or her email address. 

5)	 There is a risk that visitors to a Treasury social media site will not know whether 

the site is an official Treasury social media site. 

Visitors to Treasury owned and operated websites will know they are interacting with an 

official government site by referring to “.gov” in the web address. These web pages also 

typically include the official Treasury seal and always include a link to the applicable Treasury 

privacy policy. 

All official Treasury social media websites contain the Treasury/bureau seal. Treasury does 

this to help ensure that users are aware that they are engaging with the Department (this is 

sometimes called “branding” the website). Treasury also includes links to the applicable 

Treasury privacy policy on all Treasury social media webpages. This helps visitors to those 

sites understand Treasury’s relationship with the social media website; which privacy policy 

applies to the public’s interactions with the website; whether Treasury collects any 

information from the social media website; and, if information is collected, how Treasury will 

maintain, use, or share any PII collected for use in a Treasury program. The notice explains 

that the social media website is not a government website, that it is controlled or operated by 

a third party, and that Treasury’s Privacy Policy does not apply to the social media website 

(except on the rare occasion where Treasury collects information from the social media site). 

It also explains that by using the social media website to communicate with Treasury, 

individuals may be providing non-government third parties access to their PII. Links to the 

applicable Treasury privacy policies are provided below: 

Departmental Offices http://www.treasury.gov/SitePolicies/Pages/privacy.aspx 

Office of Financial Research http://financialresearch.gov/privacy-policy/ 

Special Inspector General for the 

Troubled Asset Relief Program 

http://www.sigtarp.gov/pages/privacy.aspx 

Making Home Affordable, https://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/pages/global-privacypolicy.aspx 

U.S. Treasury Inspector General 

for Tax Administration 

https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/important.shtml#1 

Bureau of Engraving and

Printing 

http://moneyfactory.gov/privacystatements.html 

Bureau of the Fiscal Service http://www.fms.treas.gov/privacy.html 

U.S. Mint http://www.usmint.gov/policy/ 

Treasury reviews the privacy policies of each social media website prior to registering for an 

official page on the website. Treasury evaluates risks before using new social media websites and 

monitors changes to privacy policies to determine whether it needs to reevaluate the risks 

associated with its uses of these websites. Treasury conducts these reviews to identify and mitigate 

risks prior to publishing a new Treasury social media page or continuing to use social media 

websites. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Section 5: Maintenance, use and sharing of the information 

5.1 Describe how and why the system/project uses the information it
 

collects and maintains.
 

Treasury limits the information that it collects through its social media activities. Treasury uses
 

the limited information it does collect to achieve the following goals and further specific missions
 

of the bureaus or offices that maintain these sites:
 

Public interaction/Open Government activities: Treasury uses and maintains social media to
 

further the principles of transparency, participation, and collaboration to foster a culture of open
 

government throughout the Department. Any information that Treasury collects to further this
 

purpose is consistent with the President’s Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government14
 

and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Open Government Directive
 

Memorandum.15 Treasury’s social media websites also provide a forum for the public to comment
 

on the agency’s activities.
 

Recruitment and/or employee outreach: To recruit and hire from the widest possible pool of
 

candidates, Treasury uses third-party websites or applications to attract new hires or to inform or
 

receive feedback from current employees. This is achieved through the maintenance of Treasury
 

LinkedIn pages. Treasury does not collect information from these pages, but interacts with job 

seekers by posting links to new job announcements on USA Jobs. 

5.2 Ensuring accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of information
 

maintained, used and shared
 

The Privacy Act requires that agencies: 

“maintain all records which are used by the agency in making any determination 

about any individual with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness 

as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual in the 

determination.”16 

The Act only applies to records containing PII that are maintained in a “system of records.” This
 

means that the records must be maintained in an information system or paper file and then retrieved
 

by a personal identifier. Treasury does not, however, maintain and retrieve any of the information
 

derived from social media using a personal identifier. Treasury does not use any information
 

derived from social media websites to make any determinations about anyone. 

While Treasury’s use of social media falls outside of the scope of the Privacy Act, the Department 

nevertheless applies the fair information practice principles and works to ensure the accuracy, 

completeness, and timeliness of information maintained, used and shared. Treasury recognizes that 

information is more likely to be accurate when it is derived directly from the individual. All information 

Treasury collects from third-party social media websites is derived from the individual. 

Direct Collection from Individuals When Information May Result in Adverse
 

Determinations
 

The Privacy Act requires that federal agencies, “collect information to the greatest extent 

14 Transparency and Open Government Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/TransparencyandOpenGovernment

15 OMB Memorandum M-10-06, Open Government Directive 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-06.pdf

16 5 U.S.C. § 552a.(e)(5). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

practicable directly from the subject individual when the information may result in adverse 

determinations about an individual’s rights, benefits, and privileges under Federal programs.” , 5 

U.S.C. § 552a(e)(2). Information derived from the individual is more likely to be accurate. 

Treasury, however, does not use any information derived from social media to make adverse 

determinations about anyone. Treasury assumes that the individual providing the information is 

the account holder identified in the account name for the person providing the information, but 

recognizes that social media accounts are sometimes used by third-parties with or without the 

consent of the account holder. Therefore, Treasury does not make any adverse determinations 

about an individual’s rights, benefits, and privileges under federal programs based on information 

collected from third-party websites. Visitors to Treasury’s third-party webpages may, however, be 

subject to the third-party website’s rules as stated in its privacy and usage policy over which 

Treasury has no control. 

Information that visitors to Treasury’s third-party webpages choose to post voluntarily on the 

website (including associating themselves with the site by, e.g., “friending” the page or signifying 

that they “like” something on the Treasury webpage) is public information. Therefore, Treasury 

has no control over the manner in which others (including the social media website) may use 

information visitors choose to share publicly. 

Ensuring Fairness in Making Determinations about Individuals 

Under the Privacy Act, all federal agencies are required to: 

“maintain all records which are used by the agency in making any determination 

about any individual with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness 

as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual in the 

determination.”17 

If Treasury extracts information from a social media webpage, Treasury retains the information in 

the same form in which it was provided by the individual on the social media webpage. The 

individual who is the subject of the information provided it directly to the Treasury webpage or 

other social media. Therefore, Treasury assumes the accuracy of the information. Treasury does 

not use any of the information Treasury derives from its social media webpages to make any 

determinations about individuals. 

5. 3 Information sharing within the Department of the Treasury 

Internal Information Sharing 

PII derived from the following bureau third-party webpages is only shared with those Treasury 

officers and employees who have a need for the PII in the performance of their duties. This includes 

employees of the following bureaus who manage the Department’s social media accounts: 

Departmental Offices, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and the Office of 

Financial Research (OFR); the Bureau of Engraving and Printing; the Bureau of the Fiscal Service; 

the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); the Office of the Special 

Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP); and the United States Mint. 

5.4 Information sharing with external (i.e., outside Treasury) organizations 

and individuals. 

External Information Sharing 

Third Party Social Media pages: Treasury does not share any of the PII that it derives from its 

17 Section 552a(e)(5) 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

third-party websites with any organizations or agencies outside Treasury. 

Section 6: Legal compliance with federal information management 

requirements 

Responses to the questions below address the practical, policy and legal consequences of failing 

to comply with one or more of the following federal information management requirements and 

how Treasury mitigates those risks: (1) The Privacy Act of 1974 System of Records Notice 

Requirement; (2) the Paperwork Reduction Act; (3) the Federal Records Act; (4) the EGovernment Act of 2002 security requirements; and (5) Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

1973. 

6.1 Privacy Act System of Records Notice (SORN) 

For certain collections of PII, the Privacy Act requires that the agency publish a SORN in the 

Federal Register. 

Compliance with the SORN Requirement 

Treasury determined that the information it collects and maintains from social media websites is 

not covered by the Privacy Act, in part because Treasury does not maintain and retrieve that 

information “by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other 

identifying particular assigned to the individual.” Therefore, a SORN is not required. Though not 

required by the Privacy Act, Treasury provided notice and an opportunity for the public to 

comment on the Treasury Public Engagement Page notice at 80 FR 36407. The Treasury Public 

Engagement Pages notice discusses the purpose of collection, the types of information collected, 

the uses of the information, sharing of the information, safeguards, and retention. 

6.2 The Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) requires OMB approval before a federal agency may collect 

standardized (i.e., the same) data from 10 or more respondents within a 12-month period. 

Compliance with the PRA Requirement 

The OMB Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, and Independent 

Regulatory Agencies, Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork 

Reduction Act18 explains the application of the PRA for many uses of social media. For example, 

if a federal agency simply solicits comments from the public by posting general information and 

providing a means by which the public may comment, the PRA does not apply. This includes 

public comments sought in response to notices published in the Federal Register or other 

publications that request public comments on proposed regulations, or any general requests for 

comments “regardless of the form or format thereof.”19 OMB has clarified that this includes 

general information that an agency posts on social media websites for the purpose of soliciting 

comments from the public. 

In accordance with the PRA and this memorandum, Treasury’s use of social media applications 

and websites to solicit unstructured public comment is excluded from the PRA’s OMB review and 

18 OMB Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, and Independent Regulatory Agencies, 

Social Media, Web-Based Interactive Technologies, and the Paperwork Reduction Act, April 7, 2010. For more 

information please see: 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/inforeg/SocialMediaGuidance_04072010.pdf

19 5 CFR 1320.3(h)(4). 
 

 

 

 

 

approval requirements. 

6.3 Records Management - NARA/Federal Records Act Requirements 

Records retention schedules determine the amount of time necessary to retain information to meet 

the needs of the project or system. Information is generally either disposed of or sent to the 

National Archives for permanent retention upon expiration of this period. 

NARA Records Retention Requirements 

If PII is posted on a social media website, it may become a federal record if it is used by Treasury 

to transact business. Most of the information that is posted by the public on Treasury social media 

webpages via is categorized as “non-record” unless Treasury performs some type of follow-up 

action to respond to a posted comment. For example, if Treasury responds to a post by a member 

of the public and uses the information provided in the comment as supporting documentation for 

a Treasury decision (white paper or Treasury policy,) that post and the Treasury response is a 

record. The retention schedule that applies to the information retained would depend upon the 

subject and records schedule for the Treasury decision. Under these circumstances, the Department 

must maintain a copy according to the requirements in the applicable records retention policy 

(policies that determine how long Treasury will retain information before destroying it or sending 

it to NARA for permanent archiving). 

6.4 E-Government Act/NIST Compliance 

The completion of Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) Security Assessment 

& Authorization process is required before a federal information system may receive Authority to 

Operate. 

Federal Information System Subject to FISMA/ Security Assessment and Authorization 

As noted previously, information from most Treasury social media websites is not maintained on 

a Treasury information system. When Treasury does maintain social media comments in a 

Treasury information system, safeguards are applied to prevent uses beyond those authorized by 

law and described in this PCLIA. Treasury protects the records it maintains in accordance with 

applicable rules and policies, including all applicable Treasury automated systems security and 

access policies. Treasury imposes strict controls to minimize the risk of compromising the 

information. Access to the information system and privileges to modify or remove information 

from the system is limited to those individuals who have a need to know the information for the 

performance of their official duties and who have appropriate clearances or permissions. All 

Treasury (and bureau) security requirements are met in the method of transferring information 

from Treasury’s third-party webpages to Treasury systems in which the information is maintained. 

Audit trails are regularly reviewed to ensure appropriate use, handling, and disclosure of PII 

maintained on all Treasury systems. 

6.5 Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

When federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use Electronic and Information Technology 

(EIT), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended in 1998) requires that individuals 

with disabilities (including federal employees) must have access and use (including privacy 

policies and directives as well as redress opportunities) that is comparable to that which is available 

to individuals who do not have disabilities. 
 

 

Compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

While many of these social media websites may meet the requirements under Section 508, these 

third parties are not subject to the same legal requirements as federal agencies. Therefore, Treasury 

provides alternative 508 compliant sites where individuals with disabilities may access the same 

information. These alternative sites are listed below: 

•	 Departmental Offices Connect with Us 

o	 Making Home Affordable

https://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/pages/default.aspx 

o Office of Financial Research (OFR) www.financialresearch.gov; 

•	 Bureau of Engraving and Printing http://www.moneyfactory.gov/; 

•	 Bureau of the Fiscal Service https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/; 

•	 Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
 

https://www.treasury.gov/tigta/;
 

•	 Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program 

(SIGTARP) only uses Twitter. All Twitter posts are sourced from information 

contained on www.SIGTARP.gov 

•	 U.S. Mint http://www.usmint.gov/. 

Section 7: Redress 

7.1 Access under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act 

Treasury has a published process in place by which individuals may seek records under the 

Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act. This information can be found at 31 C.F.R. Part 1, 

Subtitle A, Subparts A and C. 

7.2 Additional Redress Mechanisms 

Treasury may provide additional redress mechanisms other than Privacy Act and FOIA remedies 

(e.g., a customer satisfaction unit; a complaint process) by which an individual may request 

access to and/or amendment of their information. 

Appendices 

There are seven appendices to this PCLIA. Each appendix discusses how each of the seven 

offices/bureaus discussed in this PCLIA comply with the requirements of OMB M-10-23, 

Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and Applications20. For example, Appendix 

A covers Departmental Offices’ social media use. If additional Treasury bureaus or programs 

open new accounts, close accounts, or modify their use of a particular social media website (or 

information on that site) identified in the appendices to this PCLIA, the bureau will complete a 

new appendix or update the relevant appendix to reflect the current status of its social media use. 

20 Please see the following link for more information: 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-23.pdf 
 

 

 

Additional or updated appendices completed for new third-party social media website uses will 

be treated as if they are incorporated into this PCLIA. Therefore, if a particular third-party 

website is not discussed in the text of the main PCLIA, please see the appendices for a discussion 

of that use. 

Appendix A: Departmental Offices Appendix E: Bureau of the Fiscal Service 

Appendix B: Office of the Special Inspector 

General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program 

Appendix F: Treasury Inspector General for 

Tax Administration 

Appendix C: Office of Financial Research Appendix G: U.S. Mint 

Appendix D: Bureau of Engraving and 

Printing 

Responsible Officials 

Timothy Skinner 

Departmental Offices Privacy and Civil Liberties Officer

 Approval Signature 

Timothy Skinner, Departmental Offices Privacy and Civil Liberties Office 
 

 

 

 

 

Appendix A: Departmental Offices 

In accordance with the principles set forth in the Privacy Act of 1974, and the requirements of 

OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and 

Applications (June 25, 2010), Treasury developed social media requirements that apply to all uses 

of social media for public engagement purposes across the Department. The following statements 

apply to all Departmental Offices (DO) existing and future uses of social media. 

Applicable Social Media Sites 

DO maintains an official presence on the following social media websites: Facebook21 , Flickr22 , 

Google+23 , LinkedIn24 , Twitter25, and YouTube26 . 

Alternatives to Social Media 

DO provides the public with alternatives to posting information or questions on third-party social 

media websites and applications. The public can obtain comparable information and services by 

visiting DO official websites and communicate with Treasury without having to join a third- party 

social media website by visiting the Connect with Us page on the Treasury website27. In addition, 

if DO uses a third-party service to solicit feedback, the Treasury page on the social media website 

will also provide an alternative government email address where users can send feedback. 

Review of Social Media Website Privacy Policies 

DO reviews the privacy policies of each social media website where it maintains an official page. 

DO evaluates risks before using new social media websites and applications and monitors changes 

to privacy policies to determine whether it needs to reevaluate the risks associated with its uses of 

these websites. Treasury conducts these reviews through its Privacy Threshold Assessment (PTA) 

and PCLIA process to identify and mitigate the risks prior to publishing a new Treasury social 

media page. 

External Links 

DO provides an alert to users when Treasury.gov or another DO website links to an external social 

media site. Therefore, if there is a link on an official DO owned and operated website that will take 

a visitor to another website that is not covered by a Treasury privacy policy, Treasury provides an 

alert to notify the visitor that they are leaving the official Treasury site. For example, on Treasury’s 

official Connect with Us page Treasury provides a link to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. 

If a visitor clicks on any of the social media sites linked to that page, a message will pop up that 

states, “You are leaving the Treasury.gov Website. Please check the Privacy Policy of the site you 

are visiting.” This ensures that visitors understand when they are leaving the Treasury website and 

entering a social media website where the terms of service and privacy policies are different. 

Embedded Applications 

DO provides notice to users who visit official Treasury owned and operated websites (as opposed 

to Treasury pages on third-party websites) when the website embeds a link to a social media 

21 https://www.facebook.com/ustreasury 

22 https://www.flickr.com/people/ustreasury/ 23 https://plus.google.com/107204431997351213963/videos 24 https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-treasury 25 https://twitter.com/ustreasury 26 https://www.youtube.com/user/USTreasGov/featured 27 For more information see, http://www.treasury.gov/connect/Pages/default.aspx 
 

 

 

 

 

 

website or application on the page. Through the Department’s privacy policies linked to each 

official site, Treasury discloses its involvement with the third party social media site and describes 

the Department’s activities. 

Branding 

All official DO third-party social media sites contain the Treasury/bureau seal. DO does this to 

ensure that users are aware that they are engaging with the Treasury. DO also includes links to the 

Treasury privacy policy on certain social media pages to ensure that users who visit those sites 

understand how the Department uses PII made available to it via social media. The policy explains 

that the website or application is not a government website or application, that it is controlled or 

operated by a third-party, and that Treasury’s Privacy Policy does not apply to the third party. The 

notice indicates whether and how Treasury will maintain, use, or share PII that becomes available 

through the use of the third-party website or application. It also explains that by using the website 

or application to communicate with the Department, individuals may be providing nongovernment third parties access to PII. Finally, the notice directs individuals to the agency’s 

official website and Privacy Policy.28 

Information collection 

In most instances, DO does not collect the PII made available through the use of third party social 

media webpages. However, there are some limited circumstances when DO will collect PII from 

social media sites. When DO does collect PII it collects only the minimum information necessary 

to carry out the Department’s mission. 

Privacy Policy 

DO’s privacy policy found on Treasury.gov incorporates the use of social media for public 

engagement purposes. It also includes links to the privacy policies of the third party social media 

social media sites where DO maintains an official presence. 

Privacy Notices 

DO includes a link to a privacy notice or a link to the applicable section of the DO Privacy 

Policy on third party social media pages29 that: (1) explains that the website or application is not a 

government website or application, that it is controlled or operated by a third party, and that the DO’s 

Privacy Policy does not apply to the third party; (2) indicates whether and how the Treasury will 

maintain, use, or share PII that becomes available through the use of the third-party website or 

application; (3) explains that by using the website or application to communicate with the agency, 

individuals may be providing nongovernment third parties access to PII; (4) directs individuals to the 

agency’s official website; and (5) directs individuals to the agency’s Privacy Policy as described 

above. 

28 The Treasury.gov privacy policy can be found here: http://www.treasury.gov/SitePolicies/Pages/privacy.aspx. 29 The location of this notice varies depending on the format of the third-party social media website, however DO/Treasury 

takes reasonable steps to ensure that the notice/ link is conspicuous, salient, clearly labeled, and prominently displayed. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix B: Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset 

Relief Program (SIGTARP) 

In accordance with the principles set forth in the Privacy Act of 1974, and the requirements of 

OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and 

Applications (June 25, 2010), Treasury developed social media requirements that apply to all uses 

of social media for public engagement purposes across the Department. The following statements 

apply to all SIGTARP existing and future uses of social media. 

Applicable Social Media Sites 

SIGTARP maintains an official presence on the following social media websites: Twitter 

(https://twitter.com/sigtarp). 

Alternatives to Social Media 

SIGTARP provides the public with alternatives to posting information or questions on third- party 

social media websites and applications. The public can obtain comparable information and services 

by visiting SIGTARP’s website, http://www.sigtarp.gov. 

Review of Social Media Website Privacy Policies 

SIGTARP: 

•	 Reviews the privacy policies of each social media website where it maintains an official 

page. 

•	 Evaluates risks before using new social media websites and applications and monitors 

changes to privacy policies to determine whether it needs to reevaluate risks associated 

with uses of these websites. 

•	 Conducts reviews through its Privacy Threshold Assessment (PTA) and PCLIA process to 

identify and mitigate the risks prior to publishing a new Treasury social media page. 

External Links 

•	 Provides an alert to users when sigtarp.gov website links to an external social media site. 

•	 Therefore, if there is a link on an official SIGTARP owned and operated website that will 

take a visitor to another website that is not covered by SIGTARP privacy policy, SIGTARP 

provides an alert to notify the visitor that they are leaving the official site. 

•	 For example, on SIGTARP’s official sigtarp.gov page, SIGTARP provides a link (via 

button icon) to its Twitter page. If a visitor clicks on that link, a message will pop up that 

states, “You are leaving the SIGTARP public Web site and going to a Web site that 

SIGTARP does not control and whose privacy policies may differ.” This ensures that 

visitors understand when they are leaving the Treasury website and entering a social media 

website where the terms of service and privacy policies are different. 

Embedded Applications 

•	 SIGTARP provides notice to users who visit official SIGTARP owned and operated 

websites when the website embeds a link to a social media website or application on the 

page. Through the SIGTARP privacy policy linked to each official site, SIGTARP 

discloses its involvement with the third party social media site and describes its activities. 

For example, the SIGTARP privacy policy states, in part: “SIGTARP uses 3rd party social 

media sites such as Twitter as additional means of reaching the public and directing people 

to www.SIGTARP.gov, which is the official website of the Office of the Special Inspector 

General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program.” 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Branding 

All official SIGTARP third-party social media sites contain the Treasury/bureau seal. SIGTARP 

does this to ensure that users are aware that they are engaging with SIGTARP. 

•	 SIGTARP also includes a link to its privacy policy on its Twitter social media page to 

ensure that users who visit those sites understand how the Department uses PII made 

available to it via social media. 

•	 The policy explains that the website or application is not a government website or 

application, that it is controlled or operated by a third-party, and that SIGTARP’s Privacy 

Policy does not apply to the third party. The policy indicates whether and how SIGTARP 

will maintain, use, or share PII that becomes available through the use of the third-party 

website or application. It also explains that by using the website or application to 

communicate with the Department, individuals may be providing non-government third 

parties access to PII. Finally, the notice directs individuals to SIGTARP’s official website 

and Privacy Policy, at https://www.sigtarp.gov/pages/privacy.aspx. 

Information Collection 

SIGTARP may receive PII that individuals send to it via Twitter “direct message,” although 

SIGTARP does not encourage the public to send such information and no such direct message via 

Twitter has been received as of the publication of this Appendix. SIGTARP does not actively 

attempt to collect PII via any third-party webpage. 

Privacy Policy 

SIGTARP’s privacy policy found on SIGTARP.gov incorporates the use of social media for public 

engagement purposes. It also includes links to the privacy policies of the third party social media 

sites where SIGTARP maintains an official presence. SIGTARP’s Twitter account is designed and 

intended to communicate information to the general public, not to collect information, PII or 

otherwise. 

Privacy Notices 

SIGTARP includes a link to its Privacy Policy on its Twitter page/account. This Privacy Policy: 

(1) explains that the website or application is not a government website or application, but rather 

is controlled or operated by a third party, and that SIGTARP’s Privacy Policy does not apply to 

the third party; (2) indicates whether and how the Treasury will maintain, use, or share PII that 

becomes available through the use of the third-party website or application; (3) explains that by 

using the website or application to communicate with the agency, individuals may be providing 

nongovernment third parties access to PII; (4) directs individuals to the agency’s official website; 

and (5) directs individuals to the agency’s Privacy Policy. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix C: Office of Financial Research (OFR) 

In accordance with the principles set forth in the Privacy Act of 1974, and the requirements of 

OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and 

Applications (June 25, 2010), Treasury developed social media requirements that apply to all uses 

of social media for public engagement purposes across the Department. The following statements 

apply to all OFR existing and future uses of social media. 

Applicable Social Media Sites 

The OFR maintains an official presence on the following social media websites: Twitter30 , 

GitHub31
 

Alternatives to Social Media 

OFR provides the public with alternatives to posting information or questions on third-party social 

media websites and applications. The public can obtain comparable information and services by 

visiting the official OFR Website, www.financialresearch.gov, and may communicate with OFR 

without having to join a third-party social media website by using the “Contact Us” functions 

outlined on financialresearch.gov. 

Review of Social Media Website Privacy Policies 

OFR reviews the privacy policies of each social media website where it maintains an official page 

to evaluate the risks, and determine whether the tool aligns to the OFR’s Privacy Principles, its 

web privacy policies, and is otherwise appropriate for the OFR’s use. OFR evaluates risks before 

using new social media websites and applications and monitors changes to privacy policies to 

determine whether it needs to reevaluate the risks associated with its uses these websites. OFR 

conducts these reviews in accordance with its Privacy Guidance for Third Party Tool Usage, and 

documents such reviews through the Treasury coordinated Privacy and Civil Liberties Threshold 

Assessment (PCLTA) and PCLIA processes to identify and mitigate risks prior to launching a new 

OFR social media page. 

External Links 

Any links to third-party, non-government websites included on OFR publicly-facing websites 

include some form of notice alerting the individual that they are leaving the OFR’s website and 

are as such, subject to the privacy and security policies and terms and conditions of the destination 

site. This is achieved via a pop-up interstitial, flyover, or similar method. All such notices are 

reviewed and approved by the OFR ADIS and Privacy Officer. 

For example, on financialresearch.gov, OFR provides embedded links that allow individuals to 

“share” information from the OFR page on financialresearch.gov through Facebook, Google+, 

LinkedIn, or Twitter. When users pass their mouse over, or click any of these buttons, a message 

pops up which states: 

“Click to share this content on Twitter.com. Please note that OFR does not own or endorse this 

website; by visiting it you are subject to the destination site’s privacy and other policies.” 

30 https://twitter.com/ofrgov
 31 https://github.com/financialresearch (Please note, at time of publication OFR has not gone live with its GitHub page).
 
 

 

 

Likewise, OFR provides a link/button that redirects users to its Twitter presence to “follow” OFR. 

When users move their mouse over or click this button, a similar message pops up. 

Embedded Applications 

Currently, OFR owns and operates one website, financialresearch.gov. Financialresearch.gov does 

not include embedded links to social media websites or applications, other than those outlined in 

the “External Links” section of this appendix. Notice is provided as described in that section to 

inform users that they are being redirected to a non-government third-party site. Additionally, 

through the OFR’s Website Privacy Policy32 included on financialresearch.gov and linked on the 

OFR’s Twitter and GitHub pages, OFR discloses its involvement with third party social media 

sites and describes the office’s activities. 

Branding 

All official OFR third-party social media sites contain the OFR seal/logo. OFR does this to ensure 

that users are aware that they are engaging with the OFR. OFR also includes links to the OFR 

Website Privacy Policy available on its official website, www.financialresearch.gov, on all official 

social media pages to ensure that users who visit those sites understand how the OFR uses PII 

made available to it via social media. The policy explains that these websites/applications are not 

government owned or operated, are controlled or operated by a third-party, and that the OFR’s 

privacy and security policies do not apply to the third party. The notice indicates whether and how 

the OFR will maintain, use, or share PII that becomes available through the use of the third-party 

website or application. It also explains that by using the website or application to communicate 

with the OFR, individuals may be providing non- government third parties access to PII. 

Information Collection 

OFR does not collect the PII made available through the use of third-party social media webpages. 

Privacy Policy 

OFR’s Website Privacy Policy found on financialresearch.gov incorporates the use of social media 

for public engagement purposes. It also includes links to the privacy policies of the third party 

social media social media sites where OFR maintains an official presence. 

Privacy Notices 

OFR includes a link to the applicable section of the OFR Website Privacy Policy on third party 

social media pages33 that: (1)explains that the website or application is not a government website 

or application, that it is controlled or operated by a third party, and that the OFR’s privacy and 

security policies do not apply to the third party; (2) indicates whether and how the OFR will 

maintain, use, or share PII that becomes available through the use of the third-party website or 

application; (3) explains that by using the website or application to communicate with the agency, 

individuals may be providing nongovernment third parties access to PII; (4) directs individuals to 

the agency’s official website; and (5) directs individuals to the agency’s Website Privacy Policy 

as described above. 

32 http://financialresearch.gov/privacy-policy/ 

33 The location of this notice varies depending on the format of the third-party social media website, however OFR 

takes reasonable steps to ensure that the notice/ link is conspicuous, salient, clearly labeled, and prominently 

displayed. 
 

 

 

Appendix D: Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) 

In accordance with the principles set forth in the Privacy Act of 1974, and the requirements of 

OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and 

Applications (June 25, 2010), Treasury developed a Privacy and Civil Liberties Impact Assessment 

(PCLIA) that applies to all uses of social media for public engagement purposes across the 

Department. The following PCLIA applies to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s (BEP) 

existing uses of social media provided by third-party websites and applications that (1) do not use 

web measurement and customization technologies on behalf of the BEP and (2) do not share 

Personally Identifiable Information (PII), or any information that could be used to determine an 

individual’s online activity derived from such uses with the BEP. Opening or closing new social 

media accounts or modifying the use of any existing social media will require a revision of this 

PCLIA. 

Applicable Social Media Sites 

The BEP maintains a presence on the following social media third-party websites: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bepgov
 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bepgov/
 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bepgov
 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bepgov/
 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bureauof-engraving-and-printing/
 

Alternatives to Social Media 

The BEP provides the public with alternatives to seeking information or submitting questions on 

third-party social media websites and applications. The public can obtain comparable information 

and services by (1) visiting BEP’s website at www.bep.gov or www.moneyfactory.gov; (2) calling 

BEP at 1-877-874-4114 (toll- free) or (202) 874-4000; or (3) emailing at 

moneyfactory.info@bep.gov. 

Review of Social Media Third-Party Website Privacy Policies 

The BEP reviewed the privacy policies and risks of each social media third-party website where it 

maintains an account in accordance with BEP’s Social Media Policy, Circular 40-00.14 (December 

20, 2016). BEP will monitor the privacy policies of each social media third-party website to 

determine whether it needs to reevaluate the risks associated with its uses. In the future, BEP will 

conduct the same review to identify and mitigate the risks, and determine whether the social media 

third-party website aligns with BEP’s Social Media Policy prior to opening a new third-party social 

media website. 

External Links and Embedded Applications 

The BEP provides notice to users when BEP’s website (i.e. moneyfactory.gov or bep.gov) links to 

a third-party website or application is not covered by BEP’s Privacy Policy. For example, BEP’s 

website provides a link to BEP’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube account. If a visitor clicks on 

the link of any BEP social media account available in BEP’s website, they will receive an alert 

stating “You are about to leave the official BEP website” with a notice that they are visiting a 

third-party website or application that may have different privacy policies from BEP to ensure the 

visitor understands they are being redirected to a third-party site. 
 

 

 

Branding 

BEP’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts contain the BEP seal or emblem to ensure that 

users are aware that they are engaging with the BEP. 

Information Collection 

In accordance with BEP’s Social Media Policy, BEP may deactivate the comments/reply capability 

of any third-party social media website or application and may remove any communication 

containing PII. The BEP does not collect the PII made available through the use of third- party 

social media websites or applications. While the public can post information in BEP’s Twitter and 

Facebook accounts, BEP’s YouTube account is designed solely for one-way information sharing 

between BEP and the public and does not allow users to post information. 

Privacy Policy 

BEP’s Privacy Policy for Social Media is available in BEP’s Social Media Policy, Circular 40-

00.14 (December 20, 2016) and BEP’s website at 

http://www.moneyfactory.gov/privacystatements.html. BEPs’ website also includes links to the 

privacy policies of the third-party social media websites where BEP maintains an account. 

Privacy Notices 

BEP provides a Privacy Notice or a link to the applicable section of the BEP’s Privacy Policy on all 

BEP’s third-party social media websites in accordance with BEP’s Social Media Policy. The Privacy 

Notice alerts individuals that the third-party website or application is: (1) not owned by BEP or the 

U.S. Government; (2) controlled or operated by a third party; (3) not subject to BEP’s Privacy Policy 

for Social Media; and (4) accessing PII when users to communicate with the BEP. Lastly, BEP’s 

Privacy Notice directs individuals to BEP’s website, which includes BEP’s Privacy Policy for Social 

Media as described above. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix E: Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) 

In accordance with the principles set forth in the Privacy Act of 1974, and the requirements of 

OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and 

Applications (June 25, 2010), Treasury developed social media requirements that apply to all uses 

of social media for public engagement purposes across the Department. The following statements 

apply to all Fiscal Service existing and future uses of social media. 

Applicable Social Media Sites 

Fiscal Service maintains an official presence on the following social media platforms : 

Facebook34 , LinkedIn35 , Twitter36, and YouTube37 . 

Alternatives to Social Media 

Fiscal Service provides the public with alternatives to posting information or questions on thirdparty social media websites and applications. The public can obtain comparable information and 

services by visiting Fiscal Service official websites and communicate with the Bureau without 

having to join a third-party social media website by visiting the Contact Us page on the Fiscal 

Service website. In addition, if Fiscal Service uses a third-party service to solicit feedback, the 

Fiscal Service page on the social media website will also provide an alternative government email 

address where users can send feedback. 

Review of Social Media Website Privacy Policies 

Fiscal Service reviews the privacy policies of each social media website where it maintains an 

official page. Fiscal Service evaluates risks before using new social media websites and 

applications and monitors changes to privacy policies to determine whether it needs to reevaluate 

the risks associated with its uses of these websites. Fiscal Service conducts these reviews through 

its Privacy Threshold Assessment (PTA) and PCLIA process to identify and mitigate the risks 

prior to publishing a new Fiscal Service social media page. 

External Links 

Fiscal Service provides an alert to users when Fiscal.Treasury.gov or another Fiscal Service 

website links to an external social media site. Therefore, if there is a link on an official Fiscal 

Service owned and operated website that will take a visitor to another website that is not covered 

by a Fiscal Service privacy policy, the Bureau provides an alert to notify the visitor that they are 

leaving the official Fiscal Service site. For example, on the Fiscal Service website footer there are 

links to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. If a visitor clicks on any of the social media sites linked 

to that page, a message will pop up that states, “You're going to a website that is not managed or 

controlled by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service. Its privacy policies may differ from ours.” This 

ensures that visitors understand when they are leaving the Fiscal Service website and entering a 

34 https://www.facebook.com/fiscalservice 

35 https://www.linkedin.com/company/bureau-of-the-fiscal-service/ 

https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/fiscal-service-fit/ 

36 https://twitter.com/fiscalservice 

http://twitter.com/treasurydirect 

https://twitter.com/usaspending 

https://twitter.com/USDirectExpress 

37 https://youtube.com/@fiscalservice 

https://www.youtube.com/user/USAspending 

https://youtube.com/@TREASURYDIRECT 
 

 

 

 

 

social media website where the terms of service and privacy policies are different. 

Embedded Applications 

Fiscal Service provides notice to users who visit official Fiscal Service owned and operated 

websites (as opposed to Fiscal Service pages on third-party websites) when the website embeds a 

link to a social media website or application on the page. Through the Bureau’s privacy policies 

linked to each official site, Fiscal Service discloses its involvement with the third party social 

media site and describes the Bureau’s activities. 

Branding 

All official Fiscal Service third-party social media sites contain the bureau seal or logo. Fiscal 

Service does this to ensure that users are aware that they are engaging with the Bureau. Fiscal 

Service also includes links to the Fiscal Service privacy policy on certain social media pages to 

ensure that users who visit those sites understand how the Bureau uses PII made available to it via 

social media. The policy explains that the website or application is not a government website or 

application, that it is controlled or operated by a third-party, and that Fiscal Service’s Privacy 

Policy does not apply to the third party. The notice indicates whether and how Fiscal Service will 

maintain, use, or share PII that becomes available through the use of the third-party website or 

application. It also explains that by using the website or application to communicate with the 

Bureau, individuals may be providing non-government third parties access to PII. Finally, the 

notice directs individuals to the bureau’s official website and Privacy Policy.38 

Information Collection 

In most instances, Fiscal Service does not collect the PII made available through the use of third 

party social media webpages. When Fiscal Service does collect PII it collects only the minimum 

information necessary to carry out the Bureau’s mission. 

Privacy Policy 

Fiscal Service’s privacy policy found on fiscal.treasury.gov incorporates the use of social media 

for public engagement purposes. It also includes links to the privacy policies of the third-party 

social media sites where Fiscal Service maintains an official presence. 

Privacy Notices 

Fiscal Service includes a link to a privacy notice or a link to the applicable section of the Fiscal 

Service Privacy Policy on third party social media pages that: (1)explains that the website or 

application is not a government website or application, that it is controlled or operated by a third 

party, and that the Fiscal Service’s Privacy Policy does not apply to the third party; (2) indicates 

whether and how Fiscal Service will maintain, use, or share PII that becomes available through 

the use of the third-party website or application; (3) explains that by using the website or 

application to communicate with the bureau, individuals may be providing nongovernment third 

parties access to PII; (4) directs individuals to the bureau’s official website; and (5) directs 

individuals to the bureau’s Privacy Policy as described above. 

38 The fiscal.treasury.gov privacy policy can be found here: https://fiscal.treasury.gov/fsabout/fs_privacy.htm 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix F: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration 

(TIGTA) 

In accordance with the principles set forth in the Privacy Act of 1974, and the requirements 

of OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and 

Applications (June 25, 2010), Treasury developed social media requirements that apply to all 

uses of social media for public engagement purposes across the Department. The following 

statements apply to all TIGTA existing and future uses of social media. 

Applicable Social Media Sites 

TIGTA maintains a presence on the following social media websites: 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TIGTAVIDEOS. 

Alternatives to Social Media 

TIGTA encourages the public to seek information and post questions on its official website, Home | 

U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration OIG (tigta.gov) 

Review of Social Media Website Privacy Policies 

•	 TIGTA will review the privacy policies of each social media website where it maintains an 

official page. 

•	 TIGTA will evaluate risks before using new social media websites and applications and 

monitor changes to privacy policies to determine whether it needs to reevaluate the risks 

associated with its uses these websites. 

•	 TIGTA will conduct these reviews through its Privacy Threshold Assessment (PTA) and 

PCLIA process to identify and mitigate the risks prior to publishing a new official Treasury 

social media page. 

External Links 

•	 TIGTA will provide an alert to users when TIGTA’s website links to an external social 

media site. 

•	 Therefore, if there is a link on an official TIGTA-owned and operated website that will 

take a visitor to another website that is not covered by TIGTA’s privacy policy, TIGTA 

will provide an alert to notify the visitor that they are leaving the official site. 

•	 For example, if TIGTA’s official website links to its YouTube channel, if a visitor clicks 

on the social media site linked to that page, a message will pop up that states that the visitor 

is now leaving an official government website. This ensures that visitors are informed that 

when they are leaving the TIGTA website and entering a social media website where the 

terms of service and privacy policies are different. 

Embedded Applications 

•	 TIGTA will provide notice to users who visit official TIGTA owned and operated websites; 

when the website embeds a link to a social media website or application on the page. 

Through the TIGTA privacy policy linked to each official site, TIGTA will disclose its 

involvement with the third party social media site and describe the Department’s activities. 

Branding 

•	 All official TIGTA third-party social media sites contain the bureau seal. TIGTA does this 

to ensure that users are aware that they are engaging with TIGTA. 

•	 TIGTA will also include links to the Treasury privacy policy on certain social media pages 
 

 

 

 

to ensure that users who visit those sites understand how the Department uses PII made 

available to it via social media. 

•	 The policy will explain that the website or application is not a government website or 

application, that it is controlled or operated by a third-party, and that TIGTA’s Privacy 

Policy does not apply to the third party. The policy will indicate whether and how TIGTA 

will maintain, use, or share PII that becomes available through the use of the third-party 

website or application. It will also explain that by using the website or application to 

communicate with the Department, individuals may be providing non-government third 

parties access to PII. Finally, the notice will direct individuals to the agency’s official 

website and Privacy Policy.43 

Information Collection 

TIGTA does not collect the PII made available through the use of third party social media 

webpages. 

Privacy Policy 

TIGTA’s privacy policy is currently being revised to incorporate the use of social media for public 

engagement purposes. It will also include links to the privacy policies of the third party social 

media social media sites where TIGTA maintains an official presence. 

Privacy Notices 

TIGTA will include a link to a privacy notice or a link to the applicable section of the TIGTA 

Privacy Policy on third party social media pages44 that: (1) explains that the website or application 

is not a government website or application, that it is controlled or operated by a third party, and that 

TIGTA’s Privacy Policy does not apply to the third party; (2) indicates whether and how TIGTA and 

the Treasury will maintain, use, or share PII that becomes available through the use of the third-party 

website or application; (3) explains that by using the website or application to communicate with the 

agency, individuals may be providing nongovernment third parties access to PII; (4) directs individuals 

to the agency’s official website; and (5) directs individuals to the agency’s Privacy Policy as described 

above. 
 

 

 

 

Appendix G: United States Mint 

In accordance with the principles set forth in the Privacy Act of 1974, and the requirements of 

OMB Memorandum M-10-23, Guidance for Agency Use of Third-Party Websites and 

Applications (June 25, 2010), Treasury developed social media requirements that apply to all 

uses of social media for public engagement purposes across the Department. The following 

statements apply to all United States Mint existing and future uses of social media. 

Applicable Social Media Sites 

The United States Mint maintains an official presence on the following social media websites: 

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedStatesMint 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unitedstatesmint 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/united-states-mint 

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/usmint 

• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/usmint/ 

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/USMINT 

Alternatives to Social Media 

The United States Mint provides the public with alternatives to posting information or 

questions on third-party social media websites and applications. The public can obtain 

comparable information and services by visiting United States Mint official websites and 

communicate with the United States Mint by calling 1-800-USA-MINT for catalog inquiries 

and by visiting its Contact Us page for subject-specific contact numbers and addresses. 

Review of Social Media Website Privacy Policies 

The United States Mint reviews the privacy policies of each social media website where it 

maintains an official page. It evaluates risks before using new social media websites and 

applications, and reviews existing privacy policies to determine whether the privacy policy 

needs to be re-evaluated for risks associated with its uses of these websites. The United States 

Mint conducts these reviews through the completion of Department of the Treasury Privacy 

Threshold Assessment (PTA) and Privacy and Civil Liberties Impact Assessment (PCLIA) 

process to identify and mitigate the risks prior to publishing a new social media page. 

External Links 

The United States Mint provides a notice to users when usmint.gov or another United States 

Mint website contains links to an external social media site. When an official United States 

Mint owned and operated website contains a link that takes a visitor to another website not 

covered by a United States Mint privacy policy, the United States Mint provides a notice 

informing the visitor that they are leaving the official United States Mint site for a site outside 

the federal government. The notice cautions that the bureau does not control the destination 

site, its contents, or its privacy policy, and encourages the visitor to review the external site’s 

privacy policy to learn about its information collection practices. It also cautions that links do 

not constitute the United States Mint’s endorsement of the site or its information. For example, 

on a United States Mint website that provides a link to Facebook, clicking on the Facebook 

link takes the visitor to an intervening redirect exit page containing the exit notice, and then to 
 

 

 

 

the social media site, giving the visitor the opportunity to choose to proceed to the social media 

site or return to Mint’s own website. The notice states: “You are about to leave the official 

United States Mint website to go to: http://www.facebook.com/UnitedStatesMint 

The link you selected is for a destination outside of the Federal Government. The United States 

Mint does not control this external site or its privacy policy, and cannot attest to the accuracy 

of the information it contains. You may wish to review the privacy policy of the external site as 

its information collection practices may differ from ours. Linking to this external site does not 

constitute an endorsement of the site or the information it contains by the United States Mint or 

any of its employees. Click Continue if you wish to go to this website; otherwise, click Cancel 

to return to our site.” 

Embedded Applications 

The United States Mint provides a notice to users who visit official United States Mint owned 

and operated websites when the website embeds a link to a social media website or application 

on the page. Through the bureau’s privacy policy, the United States Mint discloses its 

involvement with the third-party social media site and describes its activities. For example, the 

United States Mint’s privacy policy states that the bureau uses third-party social media 

websites as additional ways to interact with members of the public and to promote awareness 

of the United States Mint and the products it offers. 

Branding 

All official the United States Mint third-party social media sites contain the United States Mint 

trademarked coin flip logo or its official seal. The United States Mint does this to ensure that 

users are aware that they are engaging with the United States Mint. 

Information Collection 

In most instances, the United States Mint does not collect the PII made available through the 

use of third-party social media websites. Its privacy policy states that we do “not use these 

Web sites to solicit and collect personally identifiable information from individuals, and 

encourage you not to publicly post personally identifiable information on our official pages on 

such Web sites.” However, there are some limited circumstances when the United States may 

collect PII from social media sites. In that case, it collects only the minimum information 

necessary to carry out its official business. 

Privacy Policy 

The United States Mint privacy policy at usmint.gov addresses the bureau’s use of social media 

for public engagement. It explains that when the public visits third-party websites, those sites’ 

security and privacy policies apply. The United States Mint provides links to the privacy 

policies of all of the United States Mint’s social media sites, and encourages the public to 

review and understand the privacy policies of these third-party websites before visiting them. 

Privacy Notices 

The United States Mint includes a link to a privacy notice or a link to the applicable section of the 

United States Mint Privacy Policy on its official third-party social media websites.