Commerce Department Orders Census Bureau and BEA to Stop Using Statistical Noise for Privacy Protection

The Commerce Department issued an order on or before June 12, 2026, banning the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis from using statistical noise infusion to protect privacy in released statistics. The order designates coarsening as the preferred privacy protection technique instead of noise infusion.

Kristen Eichamer stated that the order prioritizes coarsening to maintain public confidence in data while safeguarding privacy of those who provide information.

Eichamer also stated that indiscriminate use of noise infusion undermined confidence in the department's products and cast doubt on their integrity. The 2020 census state-level results used for congressional seat redistribution and Electoral College votes contained no statistical noise.

The 2020 census detailed demographic data used for redrawing individual voting districts included privacy protection methods involving noise.

John Abowd, who served as chief scientist at the Census Bureau during the first Trump administration and the Biden administration, said plans for 2030 census redistricting data will have to be completely redesigned under the new ban on statistical noise.

Under the ban, the only confidentiality protection available for 2030 redistricting data is coarsening, which is guaranteed to reduce the level of detail drastically. America First Legal, co-founded by Stephen Miller, filed a lawsuit last year challenging the Census Bureau's differential privacy system.

A three-judge court ruled that America First Legal's initial lawsuit was filed past the time limit. America First Legal refiled its case, which continues to challenge another statistical technique used by the bureau. Stephen Miller is President Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy.