Saturday, July 31, 2004
Deja Vu
Hats off to the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Using on a Freedom of Information Act request, they uncovered Census Bureau activity that should make all of us take a breath.
In August 2002 and December 2003, the Census Bureau responded to requests from the Department of Homeland Security and provided information on where Arab-Americans lived. The Census Bureau didn't list names - that is clearly illegal - but it did break out Arab-American populations, sorted by country of origin, down to the zip code level.
Official explanations for the need for the data can easily be dismissed. According to a spokewoman for the Customs and Border Protection Division, the agency was undertaking an education campaign on travel regulations and the profiles were used to determine what airports should be targeted for Arabic, as well as English, versions.
The problem with this explanation is that the same language - Arabic - is spoken in all Arab countries. The detailed information breakdown required by the Customs and Border Protection Division doesn't make sense. Unless, of course, the data is actually being used for something else...
It was only in 2000, that the Census Bureau officially apologized for allowing its data to be used in finding and interning Japanese-Americans during World War II. Now the comment (in the New York Times) from a Census Bureau official is "We understand that groups can be affected by what we give out, and we understand that can be sensitive. But that is a societal debate, not a census debate."
Well, then...let the debate begin...
In August 2002 and December 2003, the Census Bureau responded to requests from the Department of Homeland Security and provided information on where Arab-Americans lived. The Census Bureau didn't list names - that is clearly illegal - but it did break out Arab-American populations, sorted by country of origin, down to the zip code level.
Official explanations for the need for the data can easily be dismissed. According to a spokewoman for the Customs and Border Protection Division, the agency was undertaking an education campaign on travel regulations and the profiles were used to determine what airports should be targeted for Arabic, as well as English, versions.
The problem with this explanation is that the same language - Arabic - is spoken in all Arab countries. The detailed information breakdown required by the Customs and Border Protection Division doesn't make sense. Unless, of course, the data is actually being used for something else...
It was only in 2000, that the Census Bureau officially apologized for allowing its data to be used in finding and interning Japanese-Americans during World War II. Now the comment (in the New York Times) from a Census Bureau official is "We understand that groups can be affected by what we give out, and we understand that can be sensitive. But that is a societal debate, not a census debate."
Well, then...let the debate begin...
# posted by AmandaWelsh @ 11:53 AM 
