An American Privacy Emergency
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
A Trump-era directive bans differential privacy and modern disclosure avoidance techniques for US Census and BEA data.
On June 4, 2026, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce issued DAO 216-26, restricting Census Bureau and BEA disclosure avoidance to coarsening and suppression, banning noise infusion, swapping, and differential privacy. The directive bypasses administrative procedures and is linked to Project 2025 and the Center for Renewing America. The authors argue the ban makes it impossible to both share granular data and protect confidentiality as required by the Census Act, using a brewery example to show how coarsening alone can still allow exact re-identification via simple algebra. They call for rescinding the order and letting professional statisticians choose methods.
What commenters are saying
Commenters split into two camps: those urging direct action (contacting legislators) and those arguing it's futile given a captured political system. A top-ranked comment notes that calling Congress is effective because tallies are kept, sharing an analogy about corporate opposition to parental leave. Another Australian commenter shares experience that contacting MPs can be effective, especially for local issues. A cynical camp argues that only primary challenges or election reform (ranked-choice, proportional voting) can force change, pointing to the re-election rate above 95% and Citizens United.