Data Protection and Privacy

I. Online Privacy Policy

II. Our Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies

III. Other Information We Collect From E-Mail and Online Forms

IV. Data Retention

V. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

VI. Document Accessibility

VII. Third Party Web Sites and Applications

VIII. Security & Third Party Links

IX. Contact Us

Privacy Statement

The purpose of this policy is to explain how we handle information we collect from you during your visit to Census Bureau websites. This policy does not apply to third-party websites that you are able to access from our websites, nor does it cover other information collection practices within the Census Bureau.

We do not collect personally identifiable information (name, address, e-mail address, social security number, or other unique identifiers) on our websites unless we specifically advise you that we are doing so.

Your rights under the Privacy Act:

Information concerning the Privacy Act can be found at the Department of Justice website.

This policy is updated when appropriate technology improvements are adopted by the Census Bureau.

We use web measurement and customization technologies to optimize your experience during your visit to our websites and to provide statistically accurate data about how you use our website. These technologies are commonly known as "cookies," and may include the use of persistent cookies and other web measurement and customization technologies.

There are three "tiers" of these web measurement and customization technologies, as established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB):

This technology tracks the user's online interactions within a single session or visit to a single website. Any information related to a particular visit to the website is deleted from the user's computer immediately after the session ends.

This technology notices when a user returns to a website and remembers his or her online interactions and preferences across multiple sessions, typically for the purpose of web analytics, but also for customizing people's online experience.

This technology is the same as Tier 2, but ties a tracking mechanism to the user's personally identifiable information.

The following sections include information describing the use of these tiers when you visit Census Bureau websites.

Data Collected Automatically

When you visit our websites to read pages or download information, Tier 1 technology is used. We automatically collect and store the following non-personally identifying information:

The information we retain does not include personally identifying information. The above information is maintained in our system logs for analytical purposes. The logs may be kept indefinitely and used at any time and in any way necessary to prevent a security breach and to ensure the integrity of the data on our servers.

• The Internet protocol (IP) address from which you access our website. An IP address is a unique number that is automatically assigned to the computer you are using whenever you are surfing the web
• The type of browser, such as Safari, Internet Explorer, or Firefox and operating system, such as Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, or OSX and Linux, used to access our site.
• The date and time our website is accessed, for the purpose of monitoring demand.
• The pages visited, for the purpose of improving the usefulness of our website by providing helpful links and removing pages that are not read.
• The last website you visit, if that website contains a link to a Census Bureau web page, indicates how you found this website.

American FactFinder

When you make use of American FactFinder, Tier 1 technology is used. Transient cookies are used to keep track of user selections so that new requests for specific data or maps can be created more efficiently. No personally identifiable information is permanently retained on either the users or the Census Bureau's computers. These transient cookies go away completely when you exit the browser. When ordering products, transient cookies are enabled to track your order through the process.

Electronic Census Bureau Surveys

When responding to surveys over the Internet that collect personally identifiable information, Tier 2 technology is used. Use of this technology is automatic unless you decline or opt-out.

The following also applies to personally identifiable information provided in response to a Census Bureau survey or census.

• In response to a survey or census via the Internet, you may have to provide us personally identifiable information. For each survey and census, we provide an explanation to respondents about the confidentiality of the data and the laws that protect the data (e.g., Title 13, United States Code Section 9 (a)).
• All web data submissions are encrypted to further strengthen the protection of the information we collect online.

Blocking Web Measurements and Customization Technologies (Opt Out)

The technologies we describe in this policy are the default settings. However, you can remove or block the use of web measurement and customization technologies by changing the setting of your browser to block cookies as described at http://www.usa.gov/optout_instructions.shtml.

Should you choose to remove or block the use of web measurement and customization technologies (opt out), we will make provide you with alternatives for acquiring comparable information or services.

When you send us personally identifiable information, we only use the information we need in order to gather the information you request or to process your response to a survey or census. All information submitted by our website visitors is voluntary. Submitting voluntary information constitutes your consent to the use of the submitted information for the stated purpose.

It is our policy not to send emails to you that contain identifiable information about you, your household, or business. E-mail is not necessarily secure against interception. Whether or not e-mail is encrypted in transmission depends on your software.

Questions and comments are only retained if required by law, or for a specific program need, as specified by the National Archives and Records Administration's General Records Schedule (GRS) 20, Electronic Records or other approved records schedule as applicable.

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), 16 CFR Part 312, requires operators of websites directed to children under age 13, and operators that have actual knowledge of collecting or maintaining personal information from children under 13, to obtain verifiable consent from parents prior to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information from children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under age 13 on our websites.

For more information regarding COPPA please visit the Federal Trade Commission's Privacy website and select the Children's Privacy link.

The Census Bureau is committed to making online forms and other public documents on its Internet server accessible to all. Currently, we are reviewing our websites and making modifications to those pages which are not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. We use Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) to create pages that are generally accessible to persons using screen reading devices, and we are careful in our construction of HTML documents to ensure maximum accessibility. We include alternate text describing graphics.

Many Census Bureau Internet documents are in ASCII or HTML formats. These documents are accessible to persons using screen reading software. We also have a large number of documents in Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) files. Currently, many people using screen reading devices cannot read documents in PDF format, specifically those that were created from a scanned hard copy.

Adobe Systems, Inc. is producing various products designed to make Adobe Acrobat documents accessible to persons using screen reading software. Adobe's accessibility web pages describe their efforts.

To better serve those with visual disabilities whom are having difficulty accessing PDF documents; you may contact us directly for further assistance at 301-763-INFO (4636), 800-923-8282, or by submitting a request at https://ask.census.gov.

The Census Bureau has a presence on several social media/Web 2.0 platforms (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr) and clearly contain the Census Bureau's official logo. Each of these web sites provides visitors with a unique way to communicate with the agency. Some may allow visitors to log in, create profiles and save information in those profiles. We do not collect any personally identifiable information about you through your use of these social media/Web 2.0 platforms. We may collect non-identifying information, such as city, state, and zip code of visitors to these web sites for statistical, research, and promotional purposes only. Further, the Census Bureau has no control over the third-party's use of this information and is not liable regarding the third-party's safeguarding your information. These web sites have their own privacy, security and accessibility policies.

The Census Bureau will from time-to-time use a third-party web site or application (hosted service) to conduct customer satisfaction surveys and/or feedback forms. These surveys and/or feedback forms do not collect personally identifiable information. The results from these surveys or forms are used to conduct primary research into the quality of the Census Bureau programs and products. The results collected will be used strictly for internal program management purposes to assess staff work, material design and development and to enhance planning efforts for current and future surveys and censuses.

Security, Intrusion, and Detection

To ensure that computer service remains available to all users, this government IT system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage to our computer system. websites identified as representing an actual or potential security threat to Census Bureau information and/or information resources are blocked. Further, websites that are known to violate Census Bureau, Department of Commerce, and/or Federal guidelines regarding access to certain types of websites and/or content are blocked, for example:

• Websites hosting malware/spam
• Websites involved in the compromise of other government agencies
• Adult content websites
• On-line storage and file sharing websites
• Freeware/Shareware websites
• Websites attacking Census Bureau systems (attempting to identify and exploit vulnerabilities in Internet facing systems)
• Websites scanning Census Bureau systems (attempting to identify Internet facing systems)

Links to Other Websites

Our website contains links to other federal agencies, international agencies, and private organizations. Once you link to another website you are subject to the policies of the new website.

Links to non-government websites are denoted by . Our linking to non-government websites does not constitute an endorsement of any products, services or the information found on them.

Need more information about the Census Bureau's privacy and confidentiality protections?  Contact our Policy Coordination Office on 301-763-6440 or toll-free 1-800-923-8282.

Data Requests

For information about data requests, please contact the Customer Services Center at (301) 763-INFO (4636) or toll-free 1-800-923-8282.  You can also obtain additional information by visiting our Frequently Asked Questions page on our web site at ask.census.gov.