Balancing Data Utility and Confidentiality in the 2020 US Census

The U.S. 2020 Census apportionment results were just released a few days ago. This report explains what “differential privacy” is. Also, how the Census Bureau attempts to examine how much risk when it comes to reconstructing identifying information from any census statistical table. The Bureau is aware that it is possible to reconstruct and identify a significant number of people from previous publicly available statistical tables. There will be a new disclosure avoidance system (DAS) introduced to ensure confidentiality, but there many complications and implications surrounding it. Because this new differential privacy system is not finalized, this report by danah boyd is a living document and will be updated over time.  - ELJ