In general, the right to privacy refers to the freedom from interference or intrusion and
the right to be left alone. Information privacy is the right to some degree of control over the
gathering and use of your data. In numerous international treaties and conventions, including
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), privacy is acknowledged as a
fundamental human right.
In America, privacy is regarded as both a right and an expectation. The ordinary
American is aware of and respects their right to privacy, whether offline or at home, but many
assume it applies to everything they do. Since the lines are blurred, many people anticipate the
government.
and corporations to respect the right to privacy of the average American, even though
people freely share their personal information every day. The expectations surrounding what we
can keep to ourselves and what the rest of the world can know are changing due to
improvements in how we store and convey information (Matsakis, 2018).
The US federal government has important data on every person residing in the US and a
lot more. Therefore, it would be wise for the US government to continue using best practices:
guard privacy, data, and information. There is no unified, comprehensive federal system in the
US. Law (national) governing the gathering and utilization of personal data.
The numerous regulations created by governmental organizations and business
associations do not have the legal force of law but are still regarded as best practices. Among
these best practices is being aware of the location of sensitive data. Resides and lists all devices
Week 4: Panel Presentation: Privacy Impact Assessments (PIA)
that store this data on computers and laptops. The second step is to act immediately to
eliminate or correct any hazards found, ensuring that the agency is cleaned up of any potentially
problematic data. Also, prepare proactively for an incident to involve going back to the plan in
question to update and make modifications and doing employee training (Ewasko, 2018).
Before creating or acquiring an IT system or project that gathers, stores, or shares
information in the identifiable form about members of the public, federal agencies are required
to undertake a PIA. Additionally, the E-Government Act mandates that a PIA be finished before
beginning a new electronic collection of information in identifiable form for ten or more people
(again, excluding agencies or employees of the Federal Government) under the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA). All OPM IT systems and electronic data must follow this advice—
collections made under OMB recommendations for putting the eGovernment Act of 2002's
privacy rules into practice.
If PIAs are poorly executed, privacy invasions by companies will continue to receive
regular and critical media coverage, customers and people will continue to reject poorly
thought-out initiatives and schemes, projects will fail, and shareholders and taxpayers will
continue to lose money on their investments (Clarke, 2011).
PIAs give pertinent, verifiable proof of the safety of essential data stored in
governmental infrastructure that contains citizens' personal information. Americans can also
view and choose finished PIAs from various federal agencies to determine how at risk each
agency is and where it stands. People may also try to make alterations or corrections inside a
particular organization if necessary. As people may check the accuracy of their information and
modify it as necessary, PIAs help promote government transparency.
In conclusion, PIAs are an excellent tool for government and private citizens. Using PIA
significantly improves information security since it helps identify risks. People can feel secure
knowing they can view these evaluations. Data privacy will continue to be a hot topic of debate
as its meaning evolves. We as a nation can balance privacy and transparency through specific
measures, like PIA, without compromising our safety and well-being.
References:
Clarke, R. (2011, February 15). An evaluation of privacy impact assessment guidance documents.
Retrieved January 18, 2019, from https://academic.oup.com/idpl/article/1/2/111/664434
Ewasko, T. (2018, March 06). 3 Best Practices For Government Agencies To Ensure Data Privacy
and Mitigate Risk. Retrieved January 18, 2019, from https://accessdata.com/blog/3-bestpractices-for-
government-agencies-to-ensure-data-privacy-and-mitigation
Matsakis, L. (2018, July 09). SCOTUS and Congress Leave the Right to Privacy Up for Grabs.
Retrieved January 18, 2019, from https://www.wired.com/story/scotus-congress-leave-right-toprivacy-
up-for-grabs/
United States Office of Personnel Management. (2010, April 22). Privacy Impact Assessment
(PIA) Guide. Retrieved January 18, 2019, from https://www.opm.gov/informationmanagement/privacy-
policy/privacy-references/piaguide.pdf
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