[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR401.140]

[Page 17]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
               CHAPTER III--SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 401_PRIVACY AND DISCLOSURE OF OFFICIAL RECORDS AND INFORMATION--Table 
of Contents
 
        Subpart C_Disclosure of Official Records and Information
 
Sec. 401.140  General principles.

    When no law specifically requiring or prohibiting disclosure applies 
to a question of whether to disclose information, we follow FOIA 
principles to resolve that question. We do this to insure uniform 
treatment in all situations. The FOIA principle which most often applies 
to SSA disclosure questions is whether the disclosure would result in a 
``clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.'' To decide whether 
a disclosure would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy 
we consider--
    (a) The sensitivity of the information (e.g., whether individuals 
would suffer harm or embarrassment as a result of the disclosure);
    (b) The public interest in the disclosure;
    (c) The rights and expectations of individuals to have their 
personal information kept confidential;
    (d) The public's interest in maintaining general standards of 
confidentiality of personal information; and
    (e) The existence of safeguards against unauthorized redisclosure or 
use.