Web-Based Systems that Disseminate Information from Databases but Protect Confidentiality

Abstract

The Internet provides an efficient mechanism for Federal agencies to distribute their data to the public. However, it is imperative that such data servers have built-in mechanisms to ensure that confidentiality of the data, and the privacy of individuals or establishments represented in the data, are not violated. We describe a prototype dissemination system developed for the National Agricultural Statistics Service that uses aggregation of adjacent geographical units as a confidentiality-preserving technique. We also outline a Bayesian approach to statistical analysis of the aggregated data.