Privacy Tool

Census Bureau Dodges Challenge to Controversial Privacy Tool

The U.S. Census Bureau has dodged a challenge for now to its use of a controversial statistical method aimed at keeping people’s data private in the numbers used for redrawing congressional and legislative districts after federal judges refused to stop the technique’s implementation. A panel of three federal judges in Alabama on Tuesday rejected the state of Alabama’s request for…

Judges Hear Arguments over Contentious Census Privacy Tool

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – A panel of judges has heard arguments over whether the U.S. Census Bureau can use a controversial statistical technique to keep people’s information private in the numbers used for drawing political districts. Monday’s hearing hinged on a balancing test: The method known as “differential privacy” must meet the federal legal requirement for maintaining the confidentiality of…