As federal agencies update and combine their data systems, the ASA urges a careful balance between protecting people’s privacy and keeping data useful for research and decision-making, calling for more education, better communication, new methods, and strong funding support.
Confidentiality
20+ JSM Sessions Focus on Privacy, Confidentiality
The 2024 Joint Statistical Meetings in Portland, Oregon, featured more than 20 sessions and panels about statistical data privacy and confidentiality. Read about the highlights!
Society Created to Back Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality
The Society for Privacy and Confidentiality Research was formed as a nonprofit corporation with the primary focus of placing the Journal of Privacy and Confidentiality on a sustainable path with respect to people and finances.
New Developments in Synthetic Data Generation: Privacy Day Webinar Summary
As the world grapples with how best to share confidential data, there is a rising interest in synthetic data methods, which are used to protect confidentiality of microdata units.
Committee on Privacy and Confidentiality News for June 2021
Members of the ASA’s Committee on Privacy and Confidentiality will present at JSM 2021 and the 2021 World Statistics Congress.
Privacy Day Webinar 2020: A Summary
On January 28, a webinar sponsored by the ASA Privacy and Confidentiality Committee was presented by Michael Hawes, senior adviser for the Data Access and Privacy, Research, and Methodology Directorate of the US Census Bureau, titled “Differential Privacy and the 2020 Decennial Census.”
Claire McKay Bowen
Claire McKay Bowen was raised on a small farm in Idaho, where she was encouraged to explore and question the world around her. Eventually, she pursued a degree in mathematics and physics, but what intrigued her most in the research projects was statistical analysis and how it was applied to solve real-world problems. She received several fellowships and the Gertrude Cox Women’s Scholarship, going on to earn a doctorate in statistics. She is now the lead data scientist for privacy and data security at the Urban Institute.
Summary of JSM 2019 Session on Formal Privacy: Making an Impact at Large Organizations
The Committee on Privacy and Confidentiality organized a JSM session that featured four experts who have implemented formal privacy models or variants of differential privacy.
June CNSTAT Workshop Focused on Privacy
The Committee on National Statistics of the National Academy of Sciences held a workshop June 6–7 to discuss new approaches to protecting data confidentiality, with a focus on methods that offer formal guarantees of privacy protection such as differential privacy.
ASA to Provide Ongoing Ombuds Service
The ombuds provides support if you have experienced or are aware of violations of the ASA’s Activities Conduct Policy.