The ability to provide these protections will evolve as Internet technology evolves. There is an additional public policy responsibility to inform the public as to the limits of privacy protection afforded by the Internet when gathering information. The public may not understand the openness of the Internet as information and communications flow through the network, particularly at nodes in the network not under the direct supervision of the Federal Government. Privacy is a broad concept in State and Federal law. It is important that in considering the Internet s multimedia environment that privacy considerations go beyond just plain text data or data contained in a data base.
Personal data can also include sound, digital photographs and images.
In addition, the structure of web sites and combination of data formats can implicate privacy issues. For instance, placing a photograph of an individual next to the title of an offensive topic can place the individual in a false light and can be a violation of that individual s privacy. Sometimes agencies will need to consider privacy and FOIA issues together. For instance, a FOIA request may ask for information that is covered by the Privacy Act of 1974. The Federal Government s information is presumed to be available to the public unless it is covered by one of several exceptions.