ABSTRACT
The merging of separate databases and the creation of what the congressional Office of Technology Assessment termed a de facto national database call into question the effectiveness of the “first generation” of privacy laws. This case of technology policy crosses a number of traditional policy arenas—individual rights, administrative practice and procedure, budgeting and appropriations, and technological change. The Congressional interest in privacy and individual records is precipitates by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) proposal that the Bureau of the Budget establish a Federal Data Center to provide and coordinate the use of government statistical information. The policy concern shifted from one of “privacy” to one of “surveillance.” The innovations in computer and communication technologies provided the catalyst for public concerns and the backdrop for congressional policy formulation, the technology did not drive the policy decisions. The lack of definition or conceptual clarity for the value “privacy” also complicated policy efforts.
