Watchdog barks at Web data disclosers

Federal agencies under fire for non-disclosure of use of personal information on Web sites

A leading US watchdog has urged Washington to clamp down on the collection of personal data on public sector Web sites after a study found that almost half break the law by not providing enough information on the use to which the data will be put.

The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) Watch research group surveyed the Web pages of 70 federal agencies and found that 31 of them collected personal information about people accessing their sites, such as names, addresses and social security numbers. Of that number, only 11 told users how their data would be used.

Ari Schwartz, information specialist at OMB Watch, said: ?Agencies collect personal information about visitors to their Web sites, but fail to tell them why that information is being collected and what it is being used for.?

He added that technology had outstripped existing privacy legislation, such as the 1974 Privacy Act.

Under the act individual US citizens are guaranteed access to their own public sector records. Federal agencies are obliged to obtain explicit permission to use personal data contained in the records for any other purpose than that it was originally collected for.

But Schwartz warned: ?The new medium has blurred the lines created by the Privacy Act and subsequent laws. Government agencies need to have a more clearly defined process laid out for them. Privacy experts in law, policy and technology must work with those engaged in dissemination to ensure that it is handled properly.?

Only four agencies gave enough information about their intentions for using personal data to meet the requirements of current law: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Social Security Administration and the US Postal Service.