Can a federal agency maintain secret files about me?

What the Law Says

The Privacy Act of 1974 is the primary federal law limiting how government agencies collect, use, store, and share personal information about individuals.

The Act applies to federal executive branch agencies (not Congress, courts, or state/local governments). It gives individuals rights to see records held about them, request corrections, and know why information is collected.

Agencies must publish notices in the Federal Register describing each 'system of records'—meaning groups of records retrievable by name or identifier—detailing their purpose, routine uses, and retention policies.

Agencies are prohibited from disclosing records about an individual to any other person or agency without written consent, unless a specific statutory exception applies (e.g., law enforcement or congressional oversight).

Statutory Text

No agency shall maintain any record describing how any individual exercises rights guaranteed by the First Amendment unless expressly authorized by statute or by the individual about whom the record is maintained or unless pertinent to and within the scope of an authorized law enforcement activity.

— 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(7) — Collection of information

Statutory Text

Each agency that maintains a system of records shall ... (1) publish in the Federal Register upon establishment or revision a notice of the existence and character of the system of records;

— 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(4) — Agency requirements

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