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A Monograph on Confidentiality and Privacy in the U.S. Census
A Monograph on Confidentiality and Privacy in the U.S. Census
Introduction
If the framers of the U.S. Constitution thought that the census might be viewed as an intrusion on personal privacy or foresaw any need to keep census data confidential, their misgivings were not evident when they approved Article 1, section 2, providing for a ' decennial census. Confidentiality and privacy may not have been an issue then since the first enumeration in 1790 collected minimal information and only produced statistics needed by the Federal Government for a few specific purposes, such as -
- Reapportioning seats in the House of Representatives
- Levying direct taxes on each state based on its population
- Determining the country's military potential in case of war
Only later, as the amount of data collected became more extensive, would census officials gradually become aware of the public's privacy concerns and the need to establish confidentiality safeguards that today are an integral part of census-taking operations.
Page Last Revised - August 3, 2023
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