Information and Privacy Laws Below are links to the laws dealing with access to information and privacy issues in countries around the world.   Australia Privacy Act 1988 Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990 Freedom of Information Act 1982 New South Wales Privacy Committee Act 1975 Austria Datenschutzgesetz (Data Protection Act) [DE] Canada Federal Access to Information Act [EN/FR] Federal Access to Information Act Regulations Federal Privacy Act Federal Privacy Act Regulations Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Regulation British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Ontario Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Ontario Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act   Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with Regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, 1981 European Union European Union Directive on Data Protection, 1995 France Loi n° 78-17 du 6 Janvier 1978 relative à l'informatique, aux fichiers et aux libertés [FR] Germany Baden-Württemberg: Landesdatenschutzgesetz Bayern: Bayerisches Datenschutzgesetz Berlin: Berliner Datenschutzgesetz Brandenburg: Brandenburgisches Datenschutzgesetz Hamburg: Hamburgisches Datenschutzgesetz Hessen: Hessisches Datenschutzgesetz Niedersachsen: Niedersächsisches Datenschutzgesetz Rheinland-Pfalz: Landesdatenschutzgesetz Saarland: Saarländisches Datenschutzgesetz Schleswig-Holstein: Landesdatenschutzgesetz Schleswig-Holstein Datenschutzverordnung Thüringen: Landesdatenschutzgesetz als Ascii-Datei   Hong Kong Hong Kong Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance Code on Access to Information Hungary Act LXIII of 1992 on the Protection of Personal Data and the Publicity of Personal Data of Public Interest Isle of Man Isle of Man Data Protection Act Isle of Man Subsidiary Legislation passed under the Data Protection Act 1986 Italy Legge 31/12/96, n. 675: Testo coordinato con le modifiche introdotte dai D.Lvi 9/5/97, n.123 e 28/7/97, n. 255 (in Italian) [IT] Legge 31/12/96, n. 675: Tutela della Privacy [IT]   Netherlands WET PERSOONSREGISTRATIES 1988 [NL] New Zealand Privacy Act 1993 Privacy Amendment Act 1993 Privacy Amendment Act 1994 Norway The Data Register Act Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 1980 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Guidelines on Privacy and Transborder flows Russia Law of the Russian Federation on Information, Informatisation and Information Protection. Passed by the State Duma on 25th January 1995 (Extracts).   Spain Personal Data Law User's Manual [ES] Sweden Data Protection Act 1973 Switzerland Bundesgesetz über den Datenschutz (DSG) vom 19. Juni 1992 [DE] Loi fédérale sur la protection des données (LPD) du 19 juin 1992 [FR] Legge federale sulla protezione dei dati (LPD) del 19 giugno 1992 [IT] United Kingdom Data Protection Act   United Nations GUIDELINES CONCERNING COMPUTERIZED PERSONAL DATA FILES. Adopted by the General Assembly on 14 December 1990. United States Freedom of Information Act (including Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996). The Privacy Act of 1974