Business Help Site

Confidentiality

8.  Are my responses confidential?

Your responses are completely confidential under Title 13, United States Code, and are seen only by persons sworn to uphold the confidentiality of Census Bureau information. Data provided will be used only to publish summary statistics that do not identify individual firms. Title 13 also provides that copies of reports retained in your files are immune from legal process. In addition, reported data are exempt from requests made under the Freedom of Information Act.

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9.  Will the name of my business be kept confidential?

Yes. Names of companies are never used. All data are summarized in statistical form only by industry and product.

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10.  How do I know that no one else can access the data from your computer?

Data maintained in the Census Bureau's computer system is not accessible to personnel outside the Census Bureau. Our computers cannot be accessed through telephone lines; there is no direct dial-up. In addition, the Bureau's computer area is closed to all personnel except for people with special passes. To access data, individuals must have a Census user identification number and a password.

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11.  How did you get my Employer Identification Number (EIN)?

We obtain a list of EINs regularly from other government agencies that have this information (e.g., the Social Security Administration). We are authorized by law to do this (Section 6103 of Internal Revenue Code).

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