SECTIONS 1798-1798.1

1798.  This chapter shall be known and may be cited as theInformation Practices Act of 1977.1798.1.  The Legislature declares that the right to privacy is apersonal and fundamental right protected by Section 1 of Article I ofthe Constitution of California and by the United States Constitutionand that all individuals have a right of privacy in informationpertaining to them. The Legislature further makes the followingfindings: (a) The right to privacy is being threatened by the indiscriminatecollection, maintenance, and dissemination of personal informationand the lack of effective laws and legal remedies. (b) The increasing use of computers and other sophisticatedinformation technology has greatly magnified the potential risk toindividual privacy that can occur from the maintenance of personalinformation. (c) In order to protect the privacy of individuals, it isnecessary that the maintenance and dissemination of personalinformation be subject to strict limits.