Federal Privacy Laws

Data are essential to inform public health activities. While an abundance of data are collected and used in different sectors, laws define how data can be used to promote health of individuals and communities. Unfortunately, it can be hard to know whether there are legal barriers to a proposed data use. Different laws with different requirements can apply to data in different contexts.  These legal snapshots give an overview of the basic legal requirements of different federal data protection laws to help public health professionals and researchers understand how different federal laws might apply to a proposed data activity. They also provide links to full text versions of the law and other federal resources.