There is a growing body of information policy.
a. Constitution: Explicit-Census every 10 years. Implicit-The right of the legislature to investigate to make laws was something established in the 17th century by Parliament. Because the framers of the Constitution were in agreement concerning the right of the legislature to investigate, this right is never mentioned in the constitution. After some debate in the courts, the bureaucracy now has the right to investigate matters under its purview.
b. Bill of Rights: The fundamental concern of the bill of rights is the abuse of power by government. The first amendment denies the government the right of prior restraint. That is you have the right to say or print something. After the fact you can be sued; however, no one can get an injunction to prevent you from saying or printing something. The Pentagon Papers is an example. The fourth amendment prevents illegal searches and seizures including papers which in the modern world is interpreted to mean your papers. Although some people claim the 9th amendment grants individuals a right of privacy, it is dubious that privacy was a concern in creating the Bill of Rights since privacy in the 1790s was simply not an issue given the primitive technology of the time.
c. Freedom of Information: The most recent round of government information laws is Freedom of Information acts at the federal and state level opening up government files to the citizen. This idea was first promoted by W. Wilson and realized by Nixon's Watergate. Reagan and Bush have tried to circumvent the law.
d. Disclosure policy: Since the progressive period there has been a growing body of legislation requiring disclosures. Examples are: truth in advertising, truth in lending, labeling of food products, security information, and poisons in the workplace.
e. Privacy: Another aspect of information policy is privacy. At the end of the 19th century in response to the yellow journalism, common law precedents were created preventing the use of a likeness and making a distinction between public and private persons. These common law precedents were not designed for the emerging social nervous system and the consequent problems of massive data files. Currently there is a privacy act which provides limited restraint on government. There is no privacy act for private firms.