Personal Data of Military Personnel May Be Prohibited from Publication Without Their Consent in the US

Republicans in the US Congress are seeking to prevent the Department of Defense from publishing personal information about military personnel without their consent, NBC News reports.

The bill proposed by the House Appropriations Committee aims to ban the publication of any personal information of current or former service members without their consent. If the individual is deceased, a relative must provide consent.

According to the Pentagon, the types of information that can currently be released typically include full name, rank, award date, previous and current service assignments, medals, attendance at professional military schools, service status, home of record, and official photographs.

The department's current decision states that this and other basic information “can generally be disclosed without a clearly unreasonable violation of privacy.”

Under the new bill, members of the public, organizations, and some employers must submit a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the data. In turn, the individual whose information is being requested must be notified before the information is published.

Exceptions will be made for inquiries from federal government agencies, state law enforcement entities, and local authorities.

The bill was developed after the Pentagon released personal data about former military personnel in the Republican Party.