Thesis

Thesis

One in four Americans are asked to agree to a privacy policy every day. In todays world, one wouldn't bat an eye when told "please fill out your date of birth" or "please enter your preferred gender." However, giving out your information isn't always required due to the Privacy Act of 1974.

Google terms and services about information they collect.

Before 1974, the government could take information without consent. When data was becoming more common, the privacy of many citizens’ data was at risk. Data privacy was a problem that caused different acts to be enacted, including the Privacy Act of 1974. The immediate impact of this act was that the government and other corporations had the responsibility to give citizens the right to access and change the data collected on them. The Privacy Act set the precedent for many other pieces of privacy legislation. However, after the 9/11 attack, the Patriot Act was created to strengthen security. In doing so, it took away many rights.