105th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 1367

To prohibit Federal agencies from making available through the Internet certain confidential records with
respect to individuals, and to provide for remedies in cases in which such records are made available through
the Internet.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 17, 1997

Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin (for himself, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, and Mr.
KLECZKA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Government Reform
and Oversight



A BILL

To prohibit Federal agencies from making available through the Internet certain confidential records with
respect to individuals, and to provide for remedies in cases in which such records are made available through
the Internet.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Federal Internet Privacy Protection Act of 1997'.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION AGAINST MAKING CERTAIN CONFIDENTIAL RECORDS
AVAILABLE THROUGH THE INTERNET; REMEDIES.

(a) PROHIBITION AGAINST MAKING RECORDS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE
INTERNET- No agency (as that term is defined in section 552(f) of title 5, United States Code) shall
make available through the Internet any record with respect to an individual.

(b) REMEDIES AVAILABLE IN CASES OF RELEASE OF RECORDS THROUGH THE
INTERNET- In any case in which an agency makes or has made available through the Internet a
record with respect to an individual (including a case in which a record was made available through the
Internet before the date of the enactment of this Act) and such individual suffers harm as a result, the
individual may bring a civil action against the agency and such action shall be treated as a suit under
section 552a(g)(1)(D) of such title.

(c) DEFINITION OF RECORD- As used in this section, the term `record' means any item, collection,
or grouping of information about an individual that--

(1) is maintained by an agency with respect to the education, financial transactions, medical
history, or employment history of the individual; and

(2) contains the name or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned
to the individual.