Last week we learned that the Department of Commerce quietly issued a policy directive that the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) that limits the type of privacy protections the agencies can use.  

The policy limits the agencies to two of the oldest methods of privacy protection, thus making it more difficult for agencies to safeguard data.   

The agencies strive to protect data while also publishing meaningful public data. However, taking away a privacy tool will not necessarily result in ‘better data’ but will likely result in less data, less useful data, or both.  

Without proper data privacy tools agencies will have to: 

• Aggregate data at higher levels – meaning less granularity; 

• Suppress data; or 

• Withhold data products 

Data products have already been removed from the Census Bureau’s website. Data for Democracy means transparency and accountability to the public. This is the opposite. 

Take Action: Contact your federal representatives

We urge you to contact your representatives in Congress, regardless of their party affiliation, and let them know your concerns. Calling is most effective and takes just two minutes of your time. You can find contact information here.