BEA’s policy on disclosure avoidance for its statistical products aligns with U.S. Department of Commerce Administrative Order “Disclosure Avoidance for Statistical Products.”
The department’s policy applies to all statistical products disseminated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. BEA is committed to the policy goals of striking a balance of accuracy, confidentiality, objectivity, and relevance for each of its statistical products that is consistent with its statistical obligations and applicable legal requirements. BEA provides users with as much data as possible, while also protecting the confidentiality of company information provided through surveys.
Coarsening is the preferred category of disclosure avoidance methods for all BEA statistical products, consistent with department policy. Coarsening involves reducing the level of detail or specificity of published statistics, such as through rounding, aggregating (grouping), and/or the use of ranges. Suppression, or the redaction of certain values, is permitted as a last resort, only to be used when coarsening is prohibited by law or would substantially defeat the accuracy or usability of a statistical product.