Privacy Act of 1974, as amended

The Privacy Act of 1974 protects certain federal government records pertaining to individuals. In particular, the Act covers systems of records that an agency maintains and retrieves by an individual's name or other personal identifier (e.g., social security number). A list of the FTC's Privacy Act systems of records, including the routine uses of those records,is published in the Federal Register. The FTC's personnel records system and its consumer complaint system are examples of FTC Privacy Act systems of records.

In general, the Privacy Act prohibits unauthorized disclosures of the records it protects. It also gives individuals the right to review records about themselves, to find out if these records have been disclosed, and to request corrections or amendments of these records, unless the records are legally exempt.

To obtain access to records about you that may be in our systems of records, use our secure Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request Form. You will be given access to any information that the FOIA and the Privacy Act require us to disclose to you.

To find out whether a specific FTC Privacy Act system contains any records about you, and, if so, to learn if those records have been disclosed, or to correct or amend records about you, use the FTC's procedures for Privacy Act requests, published in Commission Rule 4.13, 16 CFR 4.13.

Privacy of Non-Government Records

The Privacy Act of 1974 does not protect the privacy of your records  that are not maintained by the federal government (e.g., credit report, bank account and medical records). Nonetheless, your non-governmental records may be protected by other federal and state laws, including statutes enforced by the FTC.


Last Modified: Wednesday, November 3, 2010