Credit agencies may only disclose personal information by written consent of the consumer or for any legitimate business need in connection with a consumer transaction. Creditors must provide the consumer with copies of all credit transactions and are restricted from disclosing information about late payments until an opportunity to correct a possible error has been given. Creditors must also restrict disclosures of a debtor's financial information to collection information only. Medical records receive surprisingly little federal protection. Otherwise, medical information remains largely unprotected.
Interactive media is protected in a potpourri of statutes.
Finally, in the wake of the contentious Senate hearings on the nomination of Judge Bork for the Supreme Court, Congress passed laws restricting disclosure of information pertaining to video rentals and cable subscriptions. The state of Georgia selectively protects a few classes of information, notably tax records. Disclosure of any information obtained through tax administration is allowed only to the taxpayer and those government officials who are expressly authorized. Otherwise, Georgia law restricts disclosure only where such disclosure would constitute a private tort action. The Panopticon can provide focus to this legislative activity.