The U.S. Census Bureau’s mission is to serve as the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy. The Census Bureau honors privacy, protects confidentiality, shares expertise globally, and conducts work openly. The Census Bureau is guided on this mission by scientific objectivity, a strong and capable workforce, a devotion to research-based innovation, and an abiding commitment to customers. The Census Bureau operates under Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9 mandate to not “use the information furnished under the provisions of this title for any purpose other than the statistical purposes for which it is supplied; or make any publication whereby the data furnished by any particular establishment or individual under this title can be identified; or permit anyone other than the sworn officers and employees of the Department or bureau or agency thereof to examine the individual reports (13 U.S.C. § 9 (2007)).” The Census Bureau applies Disclosure Avoidance (DA) techniques to its publicly released statistical products in order to protect the confidentiality of its respondents and their data.

The Census Bureau’s Disclosure Review Board (DRB) supports the Data Stewardship Executive Policy Committee in its efforts to protect Title 13 respondent confidentiality by proposing protection policies and methodologies, and reviewing external products, such as microdata and tabulation releases, for potential disclosure. The DRB coordinates activities that inform decisions made to protect confidentiality through data collection, linking, and dissemination.