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| 2 May 2025 | |
| Written by Corinna Turbes | |
| Blogs |
April 30, 2025
The Honorable Lori Trahan
Member of Congress
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Trahan:
The Data Foundation appreciates the opportunity to respond to your Request for Information regarding the modernization of the Privacy Act of 1974 and related privacy frameworks. As a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to improving government and society through the use of data, we have extensive experience working at the intersection of data policy, privacy, and government efficiency.
Our Center for Data Policy brings a unique systems perspective to these questions. Rather than viewing data policy in isolation, we analyze how laws, regulations, policies, and people interact to create a coherent data ecosystem. This approach recognizes that privacy protection requires attention not just to legal frameworks but also to governance structures, technical capabilities, and implementation practices.
Over the past several years, our work has focused on a number of areas directly relevant to your inquiry. We have developed frameworks for responsible AI implementation, researched modernization approaches for vital records – birth, marriage, and death data – that balance privacy with program integrity, explored governance models for secure data sharing, and collaborated with federal, state, and local officials on evidence-based policymaking. This work has given us practical insight into both the challenges and opportunities that arise when seeking to update privacy frameworks in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
In this response, we address selected questions from your RFI where our expertise is most relevant. We have organized our comments into three main sections: 1) General Privacy Considerations in the Digital Age, 2) Modernizing the Privacy Act Framework, and 3) Integrating Privacy Across Federal Data Laws. Throughout, we emphasize practical solutions that promote responsible data use while upholding fundamental privacy rights.
The Data Foundation stands ready to provide additional information or to participate in further dialogue as your committee considers these important issues.
