The centrepiece of the federal government's legal framework for privacy protection, the Privacy Act of 1974, provides safeguards for information maintained by federal agencies. In addition, the E-Government Act of 2002 requires federal agencies to conduct privacy impact assessments for systems or collections containing personal information. The author was asked to determine whether laws and guidance consistently cover the federal government's collection and use of personal information and incorporate key privacy principles. The author was also asked, in doing so, to identify options for addressing these issues.