Contact: Jim Harper

(202) 546-3701

http://www.privacilla.org

Washington, D.C. — Privacilla.org Editor Jim Harper commented today on the scheduled vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act:

Legislation like this is where the rubber hits the road for real privacy protection. Only governments have the power to take information from us by force of law. Only governments can change the rules under which information is collected after they have it. The more Americans know about government use of personal information, the better.

The Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act will require agencies to reveal the effects proposed regulations will have on privacy and other important government information practices like security, access, and disclosure of additional use. It would make privacy a part of the math that agencies do whenever they consider a new regulation.

Legislation after last year's terror attacks opened up new avenues for federal investigators to collect personal information. But our alphabet soup of federal agencies had been collecting reams of innocent Americans' personal information long before and ever since.

Before it imposes any more 'privacy' regulations on the private sector, the government itself should walk the walk on privacy. The Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act at least laces up the federal government's shoes.

More information about the Federal Agency Protection of Privacy Act is available in Privacilla's testimony on the legislation.

Privacilla.org (http://www.privacilla.org) is an innovative Web site that captures "privacy" as a public policy issue. Privacilla has been described as a "privacy policy portal" and an "online think-tank."