Transcript CES Task Force on Confidentiality and Microdata Tiina Luige UNECE Statistical Division Conference of European Statisticians UN Economic Commission for Europe.

CES Task Force on
Confidentiality and Microdata
Tiina Luige
UNECE Statistical Division
Conference of European Statisticians
UN Economic Commission for Europe
Background
• Conference of European Statisticians (CES) = Heads
of the statistical offices of 55 ECE member countries
+ non-European OECD countries + int. org-s
• Plenary session every June – 53rd in 2005
http://www.unece.org/stats/
• In 2003 a seminar on Statistical Confidentiality and
Microdata
=> dealing with managerial issues of confidentiality and
microdata access
CES in 2003 agreed that …
– confidentiality is becoming an international issue
– need to unify the approaches internationally and to agree on
core principles for dissemination of microdata
• to address research access internationally
• to help countries that are in the process of setting up their legal
background and procedures
• help in discussions with user community and other government
agencies
– principles general enough to be applicable in countries with
different level of development
– accompanied by guidelines and good practices
– endorsed by the CES
Fundamental principles of official
statistics
Principle 6: data confidentiality
• “Individual data collected by statistical agencies for
statistical compilation, whether or not they refer to
natural or legal persons, are to be strictly
confidential and used exclusively for statistical
purposes”
TF on Confidentiality and Microdata
• Members: Australia (Chair), Canada, Denmark, Georgia,
Italy, Poland, UNECE
• Website: http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/tfcm.htm
• First draft presented at the CES 2004 plenary session:
• Comments from countries
• 2nd version at the 2005 CES plenary session “Managing
confidentiality and microdata access: guidelines and core
principles”
• 3rd version for the 2005 October meeting of the CES Bureau
• June 2006 – planned final endorsement of the Guidelines
Guidelines
• Perspectives of the statistical offices and the research
community
• Core principles
• Methods of supporting the research community
(anonymised microdata files, remote access facilities, data
laboratories)
• Management issues associated with the release of
microdata (decision making, metadata, breaches by
researchers)
• Special issues (international access, data linking)
• Case studies (21)
Principles
• Principle 1: It is appropriate for microdata collected for official
statistical purposes to be used for secondary data analysis to
support research as long as there are prescribed conditions
that protect confidentiality.
• Principle 2: Microdata should only be made available for
statistical purposes.
• Principle 3: Provision of microdata should be consistent with
legal and other necessary arrangements which ensure that
confidentiality of the released microdata is protected.
• Principle 4: The processes for researcher access to microdata
as well as the uses and users of microdata should be
transparent, and publicly available.
Perspective of the research community
• From research side has been some criticism that
the Guidelines are too restrictive, especially from
the census microdata users
• Guidelines apply to
– both economic and social microdata
– very different countries: big/small, developed market
economies/developing and transition countries
• Final responsibility for confidentiality lies with
statistical offices
Issues where different opinions are
expressed:
• “Statistical purposes”
– microdata could be used for research purposes using
statistical models, analysis and data based on microdata
• Equality of access
– transparent procedures
• Informed consent
– active and passive consent
• Public Use Files
– stocktaking of different approaches needed
Different opinions expressed (cont.):
• International access – more developed in the
updated version
– enforcing punishment across borders
– access by international organizations
• Public benefit
– better criterion: furthering the objectives of statistical
offices
• Other:
– conflict with data protection laws
– sensitive variables
– different kinds of research
=> Flexibility in implementation should be allowed
UNECE Survey on international
access to microdata (fall 2005)
• Sent out to UNECE and OECD member countries - 61
countries, 43 responded ( response rate about 70%)
• Majority of countries release microdata to international
organisations (only 3 do not)
• Can release: 55% as PUF, 82% licensed microdata files, few
RAF (12%)
• Do release: 40% as PUF, 67% licensed files
• 50% to an int. organization as a whole, 50% to an individual
• business and household data - 65% the same arrangements,
32% different
• 85% can release to researchers collaborating with int. org.;
77% to researchers from other countries
Further steps:
• Target date for final version for endorsement by
the CES: June 2006
• Will become the “UNECE Principles of
confidentiality and access to microdata”, an
extension of fundamental principles of official
statistics in the area of confidentiality
For more information:
• Website:
http://www.unece.org/stats/documents/tfcm.htm
• Chairman: Dennis Trewin, Australian Bureau of
Statistics ([email protected])
• UNECE Secretariat: Tiina Luige
([email protected])