Back to Census page


Title 13 is the law which guarantees the confidentiality of census information. Title 13 information to any other federal, state, or local agency or any foreign government.

This also means that a court cannot subpoena that information, nor is it subject to the Freedom of Information Act or the Patriot Act. Title 13 is an airtight law that applies even to the White House, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigation, police, military, and welfare agencies
.

On record: files and dossiers in American life
Pages 225 - 236 have info on how the Census Bureau can't share information with other agencies.
 
                            census

Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires that a census of the population be conducted every 10 years so that the representatives in Congress and direct taxes might be apportioned. In 1790, the first census was taken by U.S. marshals on horseback and counted 3.9 million people. Census 2000 counted more than 281 million people.

Does the Census keep my information private?

"As thousands of trained Census Bureau workers gear up to begin the 2010 census of the United States population, one thing makes their service unlike any other job. All census takers must take an oath that they will never reveal the information they collect as they knock on doors in neighborhoods around the country. And it is an oath that lasts for the rest of their lives. Not even the president of the United States swears a life-time oath. The only thing that comes close are the wedding vows a couple takes to be faithful 'till death do us part.'...

Violation of this oath can result in a maximum penalty of up to $250,000 or five years imprisonment, or both,"
Erik Fowle, New America Media.
               




 
What is the Census?
The census is a count of everyone living in the United States every 10 years.
• The census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution.
• The next census is in 2010.
• Your participation in the census is required by law.
• It takes less than 10 minutes to complete.
• Federal law protects the personal information you share during the census.
• Census data are used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide, and to distribute $380 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year.