Final answer:
The Privacy Act of 1974 restricts the information the U.S. federal government can collect about individuals and sets guidelines for its management, ensuring individual privacy rights are honored.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Privacy Act of 1974 restricts the information that the U.S. federal government can collect about an individual and regulates what it can do with the information. It serves to prevent unauthorized disclosure of personal information held by federal agencies. Ensuring individual privacy rights, the act is part of broader protection mechanisms alongside the Fourth Amendment, which requires the government to show probable cause and obtain a warrant before accessing private digital data. Additionally, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) promotes transparency by enabling citizens to request information from the federal government, although with some data exempt from disclosure for security and privacy reasons.