Organizations and individuals across the nation signed a letter to Congressional leaders urging them to address the recent removal of federal data at various agencies. Public data has been selectively removed from US government agency websites, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Scientific and Technical Information and others. The removal of this public data “deny the public of scientists and other independent analysts use of federal data so important to public and private sector leaders in their work.”
Beyond the scientific community, the removal of public data has far-reaching, real-world consequences that impact citizens’ ability to “monitor the delivery of services that Americans depend on, including health care, education, and essential infrastructure.”
The alarming move has no legal or administrative precedent, leading to the call on Congress to demand the restoration of data that have been removed and take steps to prevent the removal of federal data in the future.
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