About the Office

In the Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, Congress mandated that the Attorney General designate a senior official in the Department of Justice to assume primary responsibility for privacy policy. Prior to this, section 1062 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 found that it was “the sense of Congress that each executive department or agency with law enforcement or antiterrorism functions should designate a privacy and civil liberties officer.” Accordingly, in 2006, the Department of Justice created the position of CPCLO in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and subsequently established OPCL to support the duties and responsibilities of the CPCLO. The creation of OPCL consolidated the Department’s existing privacy operations into one office to centralize and coordinate its privacy and civil liberties activities that concern the handling of personal information. OPCL is headed by a Director who reports directly to the CPCLO.