Privacy in the Computer Age

The right of privacy has been protected in law at every level in various ways and in various degrees, and the computer age threatens the structure of protections because of the sophisticated technology involved and the degree to which it has permeated society. An examination of the way in which the issues have developed shows a patchwork of state actions directed at one aspect or another of the problem, and the variety proves the complexity of the issue. The variety also shows that there is a lack of coordination in addressing the matter and that this has resulted in conflicting laws in different jurisdictions. What is needed is a federal role that will make sense of the issue and that will rationalize the laws regarding privacy and comput

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mation sharing in government and considers judicial solutions, legislative solutions, administrative solutions and selects as best an administrative solution: "The creation of a federal agency with broad power to oversee the information processing of all other federal agencies could effectively prevent or remedy abuses. The legal community and the public at large must become educated in the dangers of privacy abuses and work toward the creation of such an agency" (p. 623). THE STATE RESPONSE Since the federal government has not yet fully addressed the issues involved in privacy and the computer age, various court decisions in the states can serve as an indication of the scope of the problem and point to some of the answers that have been given in different jurisdictions. This analysis should also show that there is no real coordination in these decisions and that different locales will develop different answers until some of the issues involved are more clearly defined and addressed on a national level. An analysis of issues that have been addressed by the various states shows several different ways in which claims have been made for a violation of privacy rights by computer. One of the issues that recurs and that in many way
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Supreme Court, Michigan University, DATA ACCESS, Study Commission, Information Act, Privacy Act, Dreyfuss Leebron, Accident Board's, , PRIVACY Freedman, personal information, medical records, privacy act, computer tape, individual privacy, personal data, privacy rights, invasion privacy, computer age, privacy act 1974, police department, freedom information act, privacy computer age, privacy protection study, form computer tape,
Approximate Word count = 6517
Approximate Pages = 26 (250 words per page)

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