The Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law (P.L.) 93-579, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, was passed by the United States Congress following revelations of the abuse of privacy during the administration of President Richard Nixon. Public law is the area of the law governing the relationship between individuals (citizens, companies) and the state. ... The United States Code (U.S.C.) is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal Law of the United States. ... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the thirty-seventh President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ...

The Privacy Act states in part,

No agency shall disclose any record which is contained in a system of records by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains....

There are specific exceptions for the record allowing the use of personal records:

• For statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics
• For routine uses within a U.S. government agency
• For archival purposes "as a record which has sufficient historical or other value to warrant its continued preservation by the United States Government"
• For law enforcement purposes
• For Congressional investigations
• Other administrative purposes

The Privacy Act mandates that each United States Government agency have in place an administrative and physical security system to prevent the unauthorized release of personal records. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census) is a part of the United States Department of Commerce. ... The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the unit of the United States Department of Labor which is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the field of labor economics and statistics. ... The government of the United States, established by the United States Constitution, is a federal republic of 50 states, a few territories and some protectorates. ...

The Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, P.L. 100–503, amended the Privacy Act of 1974 by adding certain protections for the subjects of Privacy Act records whose records are used in automated matching programs. These protections have been mandated to ensure:

• procedural uniformity in carrying out matching programs;
• due process for subjects in order to protect their rights, and
• oversight of matching programs through the establishment of Data Integrity Boards at each agency engaging in matching to monitor the agency's matching activity.

The Computer Matching Act is codified as part of the Privacy Act.