The US pension agency can now keep legal case records secret
What happened
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation changed its privacy rules. It can now exempt legal case management records from public disclosure under the Privacy Act.
Why it matters
The US government has a law, the Privacy Act, that lets people see records about themselves held by federal agencies. This rule change means the pension agency can now keep certain legal records secret. This makes it harder for people to track how the agency handles legal investigations, especially those involving law enforcement.
The signal
Watch for any future legal challenges to the agency's use of this exemption, or if other agencies adopt similar changes.