ASA COMMITTEE ON PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
Session Slot: 10:30-12:20 Tuesday
Estimated Audience Size: 100
AudioVisual Request: regular - overhead projector
Panel Session Title: Should We Continue To Release Public-Use Microdata Files?
Statistical data from censuses and surveys are
disseminated in text, tabular, graphic, and
microdata formats. The last of these, which has substantially enhanced
the utility of census and
survey data, is a product of the computer age. Data users receive files
of individual records,
giving them the ability to interact with the data set and perform the
tabulations and statistical
analyses that are best suited to their own purposes. Two principles
have been applied to the
release of microdata files - restricted data and restricted access. For
virtually all releases of
microdata files, data are restricted by removing explicit identifiers
and taking other steps to limit
the possibility that individuals can be identified. In some instances,
access is restricted to certain
categories of users, such as those who have research grants with a
federal agency or those who
are willing to work with the files at a federal site. Users in these
categories are generally subject
to penalties for violating the terms of their access to the files. A
public-use microdata file is one
for which there are no restrictions on access, other than payment of the
cost of a tape or CD-
ROM. Some public-use microdata files can be downloaded via the
Internet. In recent years,
Rubin, Fienberg, and others have proposed to eliminate all risk that
individuals can be identified
by releasing microdata files containing only synthetic data - records
that do not contain
information for specific individuals but, in the aggregate, retain the
statistical properties of the
real records.
Several federal statistical agencies are currently releasing public-use
microdata sets and plan to
do so in the future, e.g., from the 2000 Census of Population. However,
some respected
statisticians argue that this practice cannot continue indefinitely -
that with the rapid
development of more efficient computer matching programs and the
proliferation of
computerized information about individuals available from both the
public and private sectors,
the risks of disclosure of the identities of persons whose records are
included in public-use data
sets will become unacceptably high. The purpose of this panel
discussion is to discuss the risks
and benefits associated with continued release of public-use microdata
files and to discuss the
pros and cons of alternative approaches - restricted access and release
of synthetic data files.
Theme Session: Yes
Applied Session: Yes
Panel Organizer: Jabine, Thomas B. Independent Consultant
Address: 3231 Worthington St., NW, Washington, DC 20015-2362
Phone: 202-244-4179
Fax:
Email: tjabine@nas.edu
Panel Organizer: de Wolf, Virginia A. US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Address: 1719 Luzerne Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910-1510
Phone: 202-606-7374
Fax: 202-606-7426
Email: dewolf_v@bls.gov
Session Timing: 110 minutes total (Sorry about format):
110 minutes total...please allocate Opening Remarks by Chair - 5 minutes First Panelist - 15 minutes Second Panelist - 15 minutes Third Panelist - 15 minutes Fourth Panelist - 15 minutes Fifth Panelist - 15 minutes Rebuttals/Discussion Among Panel Members - 15 minutes Floor Discussion - 15 minutes
Panel Chair: Kirkendall, Nancy J. US Office of Management and Budget
Address: OMB, OIRA, Statistical Policy Branch, NEOB, Room 10201, 725-17th St., NW, Washington, DC 20503
Phone: 202-395-7315
Fax: 202-395-7245
Email: nancy_kirkendall@oa.eop.gov
David, Martin University of Wisconsin
Address: Univ. of Wisc., Dept. of Economics, 6440 Soc. Sci., Bldg., 1180 Observatory Dr., Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-262-3281
Fax: 608-263-3876
Email: david@ssc.wisc.edu
Fienberg, Stephen E. Carnegie Mellon University
Address: Carnegie Mellon University, Dept. of Statistics, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Phone: 412-268-2723
Fax: 412-268-7828
Email: fienberg@stat.cmu.edu
Gordon, Nancy M. Census Bureau
Address: Census Bureau, Room 2061-3, Washington, DC 20233
Phone: 301-457-2126
Fax: 301-457-3761
Email: nancy.m.gordon@ccmail.census.gov
Juster, F. Thomas University of Michigan
Address: Univ. of Michigan, Inst. for Social Research, PO Box 1248, Room 3240, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248
Phone: 313-764-4207
Fax: 313-647-1186
Email: ftjuster@umich.edu
Scheuren, Frederick J. Ernst & Young
Address: 1402 Ruffner Road, Alexandria, VA 22302-4217
Phone: 202-327-6000
Fax:
Email: fritz.scheuren@ey.com
List of speakers who are nonmembers: None