Privacy Protection in the 1980s

Privacy is a term with multiple meanings. However, in the context of automated record-keeping systems which contain personal data about individuals, "privacy" refers to the rights of individuals regarding the collection, storage, processing, circulation, and use of personal information about themselves (1-4). Synonymous terms in use are "fair information practices" and, in many countries abroad, "data protection" (5,6). Privacy protection is achieved when privacy rights are granted to individuals by legislative means or voluntarily by record- keeping organizations, and their enforcement is implemented by procedural and technical means