Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
organizations, as well as legal ways in which information held by the government can be
disseminated.
4.
Invasion
refers to activities that intrude upon a person's daily life, interrupt a person's
solitude, or interfere with someone's decision making. In Section 6.11 we survey govern-
ment actions to limit intrusion by other organizations, as well as government programs
that can be seen as intrusive.
We consider each of these categories in turn, examining how federal, state, and
local governments in the United States have addressed the often-competing interests of
protecting personal privacy and promoting the common good.
Collection
This section gives three examples of federal legislation that limits the amount of infor-
mation private entities can collect from individuals.
The Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 (EPPA) prohibits most private employ-
ers from using lie detector tests under most situations. An employer may not require or
even request a job applicant or employee to take a lie detector test, and an employee who
refuses to take a lie detector test cannot suffer any retaliation.
The law has several important exceptions. Pharmaceutical companies and security
firms may administer polygraph tests to job applicants in certain job categories. Employ-
ers who have suffered an economic loss, such as theft, may administer polygraph tests to
employees whom they reasonably suspect were involved. Most significantly, EPPA does
not apply to federal, state, and local governments.
The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which went into effect in 2000,
is designed to reduce the amount of information gathered from children using the
Internet. According to COPPA, online services must obtain parental consent before
collecting any information from children 12 years old and younger.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 is designed to prevent discrim-
ination in the areas of medical benefits and employment based on genetic information.
It prohibits health insurance companies and health plan administrators from request-
ing genetic information from individuals or their family members, and it forbids them
from using genetic information when making decisions about coverage, rates, or preex-
isting conditions. It also prohibits most employers from taking genetic information into
account when making hiring, firing, promotion, or any other decisions related to the
terms of employment. The law does not extend these nondiscrimination protections to
