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The Committee's charge is

• To review legislation in the area of privacy and confidentiality and to monitor the application of privacy and confidentiality laws, regulations, and guidelines.
• To communicate to the ASA members important activities and research funding opportunities in privacy and confidentiality relevant to statistics. 
• To communicate to the ASA members important activities and research funding opportunities in privacy and confidentiality relevant to statistics.
• To provide an early warning system to the Board of Directors on privacy and confidentiality matters that may affect statisticians. 
• To serve as a focal point within ASA for contact with other associations on matters related to privacy and confidentiality.
  
• To monitor and encourage new technical developments related to privacy and confidentiality of data collected or used for statistical purposes.
  
• To develop appropriate liaison with Congressional Committees and Federal agencies on matters relating to privacy and confidentiality.

• To represent ASA in Congressional hearings on privacy and confidentiality, at the request of the Board of Directors. 

• To make suggestions to the Board of Directors for needed study and action in the area of privacy and confidentiality.

The Privacy and Confidentiality Committee of the American Statistical Association developed this website to help policymakers, statisticians, and the general public to better understand issues in privacy and confidentiality. The site includes:

• a primer on key concepts and terms in privacy and confidentiality, and resources for training on privacy and confidentiality protection
• information on techniques for preventing unintended disclosures when sharing confidential data
• explanations of specific issues and examples of protecting privacy and confidentiality for biological and health data, for business and economic data, and for demographic data
• guidelines on best practices for government agencies
• links to key laws and regulations on privacy and confidentiality
• resources related to the protection of human subjects and ethical research.

Links to these topics are at the top of each page on the site. The site also provides a link to opportunities for federal funding for research in privacy and confidentiality, which is actively supported by major funding bodies.

The American Statistical Association--a leading professional organization for statisticians in government, industry and academia--supports improving practice and research in privacy and confidentiality. The ASA's views are summarized in an organizational statement. The ASA and the Committee request that you read their disclaimer statement before perusing this site for the first time.  Suggestions on the site can be sent via e-mail to the current chair of the Committee, who can be identified by following the first link on the top of each page.