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A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 29 November 2022
Census Bureau chief defends new privacy tool against critics

By MIKE SCHNEIDER the identity of any given
Associated Press participant and is most no-
The U.S. Census Bureau’s ticeable at the smallest ge-
chief is defending a new ographies, such as census
tool meant to protect the blocks. Data used for deter-
privacy of people par- mining how many congres-
ticipating in the statistical sional seats each state gets
agency’s questionnaires and for redrawing political
against calls to abandon districts were released last
it by prominent research- year, but more detailed
ers who claim it jeopardizes figures from the 2020 cen-
the usefulness of numbers sus won’t be made public
that are the foundation of until next year, almost three
the nation’s data infrastruc- years after they were col-
ture. lected.
The tool known as differen- Some bias using the pri-
tial privacy “was selected vacy tool “was inevitable
as the best solution avail- from a purely mathemati-
able” against efforts by cal perspective,” but bu-
outside groups or individu- reau statisticians have
als to piece together the worked to minimize it, and
identities of participants in delays were caused by the
the bureau’s censuses and Then-Census Bureau Director nominee Robert Santos, testifies before the Senate Homeland pandemic, which pushed
surveys by using third-party Security and Governmental Affairs committee, July 15, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. back a series of releases of
data and powerful com- Associated Press the 2020 census data, San-
puters, U.S. Census Bureau tos said.
Director Robert Santos said future annual population delayed their release and “the Census Bureau risks Meanwhile, the bureau’s
in a letter last week. Con- estimates, which are used created inaccuracies in failing its responsibilities as watchdog agency said
cerns about privacy have in the distribution of $1.5 tril- the numbers used to deter- a federal statistical agency in a report last week that
grown in recent years as lion in federal funding each mine political power and to provide relevant, accu- the statistical agency had
cyberattacks and threats year, and future releases of distribute federal funds. rate, timely, and credible failed to stop simulated
of personal data being American Community Sur- The researchers said in information for the pub- cyberattacks it had con-
used for the wrong reasons vey data, which provide their letter that there were lic good,” the researchers ducted as part of a covert
have become more com- the most comprehensive thousands of small jurisdic- and demographers said. operation to test the bu-
monplace. information on how people tions throughout the U.S. “In fact, the experience of reau’s cybersecurity vulner-
Several prominent state live in the U.S. that won’t get usable data the last few years has un- abilities.
demographers and aca- The demographers and because of the algorithms dermined user trust in the The Census Bureau said in
demic researchers had researchers said the ap- applied to the numbers to Census Bureau.” a response to the report
asked the statistical agen- plication of the privacy protect confidentiality. Differential privacy algo- that the exercise had al-
cy in August to abandon method for the first time By continuing to use the dif- rithms add intentional er- lowed it to improve its cy-
using differential privacy on on 2020 census data had ferential privacy algorithms, rors to data to obscure ber defenses.q

Water boil order issued for more than 2 million in Houston

HOUSTON (AP) — More water pressure to drop, and used for cooking, bathing the state’s environmental this was possible and how
than 2 million people in the the mayor of the nation’s or drinking. Multiple Hous- agency gives an all-clear it can be prevented. He
Houston area were under a fourth-largest city ordered ton area public and private after analyzing test results. said because the issue was
boil order notice Monday a full review of the system. schools, as well as some lo- According to Turner, the within the plant’s system,
after a power outage at a The notice tells custom- cal colleges, were closed city issued a notice, which backup power generators
purification plant caused ers to boil water before it’s Monday as a result of the affects all of Houston and would not have made a
notice, while others made multiple adjacent areas, difference.
adjustments to provide af- in an “abundance of cau- Sixteen sensors marked
fected campuses with bot- tion” after the two trans- dips under the minimum
tled water and sanitizer. formers a main one and pressure levels required by
The notice was issued Sun- its backup “uniquely and the Texas Commission on
day, hours after two trans- coincidentally” failed. Environmental Quality 14
formers failed, causing The problem affected the of them for only 2 minutes
power outages at the wa- plant’s ability to treat water and two of them for nearly
ter plant, Houston Mayor and pump water into the 30 minutes, Turner said.
Sylvester Turner said at a transmission system, result- Untreated groundwater
press conference Monday. ing in low water pressure. can enter a water system
There was no indication the The power system at the through cracked pipes
water system had been water plant undergoes reg- when water pressure drops.
contaminated. ular maintenance, Turner Customers are told to boil
Water quality testing was said, but he did not give a water to kill bacteria that
John Beezley, of Bonham, buys cases of water after learning underway, Turner said. He timeline for how often. The could be harmful.
that a boil water notice was issued for the entire city of Houston said he expects the notice mayor said he has ordered “We are optimistic the re-
on Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, at Walmart on S. Post Oak Road in to be lifted by early Tues- a diagnostic review of the sults will come back clean,”
Houston.
Associated Press day at the latest, once system to understand how Turner said.q