2020 Census Information and Resources for Libraries: Privacy & Security

Our Legal Duty To Protect Your Information

• The Census Bureau is bound by Title 13 of the U.S. Code to keep your information confidential.
• Under Title 13, the Census Bureau cannot release any identifiable information about you, your home, or your business, even to law enforcement agencies.
• The law ensures that your private data is protected and that your answers cannot be used against you by any government agency or court.
• The answers you provide are used only to produce statistics. 
• You are kept anonymous: The Census Bureau is not permitted to publicly release your responses in any way that could identify you or anyone else in your home.

Data Protection and Privacy Program

• Being responsible stewards of your data is not only required by law, it is embedded in Census Bureau culture.
• Strict policies and statistical safeguards help protect the confidentiality of your information.
• Before releasing data products, the Census Bureau verifies that they meet its confidentiality standards.

Secure Technology

• From the beginning of the data collection process, the Census Bureau follows industry best practices and federal requirements to protect your data.
• The security of Census Bureau systems is a top priority, and our IT infrastructure is designed to defend against and contain cyberthreats.
• We continually refine our approach to identifying, preventing, detecting, and responding to these threats.