A Republican Plan to Make the Census Data Less Private Could Put Millions of Americans at Risk.
The Republicans are pushing a new bill called the COUNT Act, which could strip away the safeguards in place that protect respondents' personal information. These safeguards, known as differential privacy, prevent statistical data from being tied to individual identities and would likely be removed if this bill passes.
If this bill were to pass, it's unlikely that the Census Bureau could provide accurate data on people's immigration status without risking the exposure of individuals' private information.
In a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Senator Jim Banks alleged that differential privacy "alters the total population of individual voting districts" and has given disproportionate power to Democrats.
But this claim is not supported by evidence. Data from the 2020 census was used in the redistricting process, but there was no impact on how seats in Congress were distributed.
According to experts who spoke with WIRED, differential privacy doesn't affect apportionment or congressional representation and has allowed red states like Texas and Florida gain seats while blue states lost them.
The proposed bill could make census data even more sensitive because this type of information is not readily available in commercial data. Many people would want access to it and the Census Bureau may be forced to spend resources to try to get accurate counts.
Another option could be suppressing or "do not publish" some demographic information, which could have negative consequences for efforts to combat discrimination.
It's clear that removing these safeguards from place will put millions of Americans at risk and undermine their ability to participate in the census.
The Republicans are pushing a new bill called the COUNT Act, which could strip away the safeguards in place that protect respondents' personal information. These safeguards, known as differential privacy, prevent statistical data from being tied to individual identities and would likely be removed if this bill passes.
If this bill were to pass, it's unlikely that the Census Bureau could provide accurate data on people's immigration status without risking the exposure of individuals' private information.
In a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Senator Jim Banks alleged that differential privacy "alters the total population of individual voting districts" and has given disproportionate power to Democrats.
But this claim is not supported by evidence. Data from the 2020 census was used in the redistricting process, but there was no impact on how seats in Congress were distributed.
According to experts who spoke with WIRED, differential privacy doesn't affect apportionment or congressional representation and has allowed red states like Texas and Florida gain seats while blue states lost them.
The proposed bill could make census data even more sensitive because this type of information is not readily available in commercial data. Many people would want access to it and the Census Bureau may be forced to spend resources to try to get accurate counts.
Another option could be suppressing or "do not publish" some demographic information, which could have negative consequences for efforts to combat discrimination.
It's clear that removing these safeguards from place will put millions of Americans at risk and undermine their ability to participate in the census.
They want to remove the safety net on our personal info just because some people are trying to manipulate the numbers... like, what's the point? It's not like they're going to get away with it anyway... 
The census is supposed to be about getting an accurate count of ppl in this country, not about who's voting for which party... and if we don't have that info, how can we even plan for the future? 
And those experts are right, differential privacy doesn't affect gerrymandering at all... it's just a bunch of nonsense to use as an excuse to control the narrative... 
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." It's crazy how a Republican plan would compromise Americans' private info just to gain an advantage in redistricting! 
like what's the harm in keeping ppl's info private anyway? And I'm kinda surprised they're making this a thing now 
It's not just about individual safety, but also about the power dynamics in our country. Can we really afford to risk undermining the voting power of certain groups? 
think about all those people who just wanna respond to the census without worrying about their info being outed its like, super unfair ppl need a break from govts interfering with their privacy
So, what's the big deal? It seems like a lot of unnecessary paranoia to me 
.
I know some companies might want it, but shouldn't we be protecting people's info instead of handing it out for convenience? 