"Affected" person is an individual or entity who may use, benefit or be harmed by the disseminated information. This includes both persons seeking to address information about themselves or about other persons to whom they are related or with whom they are associated, as well as persons who use the information.
"Dissemination" means agency initiated or sponsored distribution of information to the public (see 5 CFR 1320.3(d) "Conduct or Sponsor") including third-party information as defined in item I. below. Dissemination does not include distributions of information or other materials that are:
Also excluded from the definition are archival records that contain information disseminated prior to October 1, 2002; public filings; responses to subpoenas or compulsory document productions; or documents prepared and released in the context of adjudicative processes to the extent that the adjudicative process provided an opportunity to contest information quality in a timely manner. These guidelines do not impose any additional requirements on OPM during adjudicative proceedings and do not provide parties to such adjudicative proceedings any additional rights of challenge or appeal.
"Influential," when used in the phrase "influential scientific, financial or statistical information," refers to disseminated information that OPM determines will have a clear and substantial impact on important public policies or important private sector decisions.
"Information," for purposes of these guidelines, including the administrative mechanism described in Sections II and III above, means any communication or representation of facts or data, in any medium or form, including textual, numerical, graphic, cartographic, narrative or audiovisual forms. This definition does not include:
"Integrity" refers to the security of information, protection of the information from unauthorized access or revision, to prevent the information from being compromised through corruption or falsification.
"Objectivity" addresses whether disseminated information is being presented in an accurate, clear, complete and unbiased manner, including background information where warranted by the circumstances.
"Person" means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust or legal representative, an organized group of individuals, a regional, national, State, territorial, tribal or local government or branch thereof, or a political subdivision of a State, territory, tribal or local government or a branch of a political subdivision, or an international organization;
"Quality" is an encompassing term comprising utility, objectivity, and integrity. Therefore, the guidelines sometimes refer to these three statutory terms, collectively, as "quality."
"Third-Party Information" means information, prepared by an outside party, that OPM disseminates in a manner that reasonably suggests that OPM agrees with the information and that provides the appearance that the information represents OPM's view. This information is covered by these guidelines.
"Utility" refers to the usefulness of the information to its intended users, including the public.
This page can be found on the web at the following url: http://www.opm.gov/policy/webpolicy/sec4.asp