Why it matters that Trump is deleting government data
What happens when one of the world's largest repositories of free information becomes unreliable?
That dire situation came to pass in late January, when many federal websites took down entire datasets to avoid possibly violating a series of executive orders from President Donald Trump. At the same time, the Department of Government Efficiency, the Elon Musk-directed task force that is slashing government operations, has canceled contracts for the collection of data and cut workers who analyze and evaluate information about various facets of American life, such as education, housing and consumer protection. These developments led to widespread concern that some data that researchers have long relied on the government to collect would no longer be readily available, potentially hindering various initiatives meant to help Americans — both inside and outside of government.
Although some information has come back online, the availability and transparency of government-collected data is suddenly no longer a given. This isn't a worry just for data journalists like us, either. Experts I spoke with laid out how the public and private sector, companies large and small, and even the average person use government data to make decisions about program effectiveness, business prospects and life choices. With this in mind, I delved into this recent interruption in data access, why this data has significant value and what challenges may lie ahead if government data becomes less accessible and reliable moving forward.
Quantifying the data disruption
Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has signed a record number of executive orders, which tell executive branch agencies how to interpret existing laws when implementing policies. Among other things, these orders directed the federal government to recognize only two genders, pause foreign aid efforts and end diversity, equity and inclusion programs. To ensure they weren't violating those orders, many departments and offices took down datasets, fact sheets and other resources dealing with issues of gender and race. For instance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took down data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which includes questions asking whether teens identify as transgender.
https://abcnews.go.com/538/matters-trump-deleting-government-data/story
= new reply since forum marked as read
