GAO: Only 3% of U.S. Agencies Protect Web Visitor Privacy
The federal government is doing a lousy job of protecting the privacy of individuals who visit its various Internet sites, according to the General Accounting Office.
The Congressional investigative arm yesterday released a report that said only 3% of the governmental agencies it surveyed between July and August actually met the four-point privacy guidelines the Federal Trade Commission proposed in July.
They are: disclosure of information gathering practices; offering Web site visitors a chance to opt out; allowing Web site-visitors to view and correct any personal data that’s collected, and keeping that data secure from unauthorized use.
The U.S. Postal Service, Social Security Administration and the National Science Foundation were said to be among the top protectors of information obtained from Web site visitors.
The worst, the GAO said, were the White House Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Justice, Labor and Interior followed by the Small Business Administration.
During its two month review, the GAO said of the 65 government Web sites reviewed 85% posted privacy notices; 69% met the FTC’s criteria for notice; 45% offered Web site visitors a chance to opt-out; 17% offered those visitors access to their personal data and only 23% secured the data from unauthorized use.
There was no immediate comment from the Direct Marketing Association. In a statement, House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), noting the government collects and stores vast amounts of personal information about its citizens, called the report a ” devastating assessment of the Clinton-Gore Administration’s failure to live by its own privacy standards.”
Armey, who requested the review, further suggested that the government ” could take a few lessons” from private business in protecting the privacy of individuals.
The House telecommunications subcommittee, chaired by Rep. W. J. ” Billy” Tauzin (R-LA), is expected to hold hearings on the report within the next several weeks.
