Federal Website Outage Sparks Data Access Concerns
A federal website that serves as a vital resource for public information regarding government data collection has experienced a significant outage, raising concerns among advocates. The site, located at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/, went offline at the end of last week and has only been partially restored as of this week. This incident highlights ongoing worries about data accessibility, particularly following the removal of multiple datasets from government platforms since the onset of President Donald Trump‘s second term.
The outage of the regulatory affairs website has drawn attention due to its implications for transparency and public engagement. The website’s landing page indicated that it is “currently undergoing revisions,” while reports from dataindex.us, a collective of data scientists and advocates, noted that information had been missing since August 1. Inquiries sent to the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration regarding the outage went unanswered on Thursday.
Implications of Data Access Interruptions
The incident is not isolated. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) temporarily took down its official portal for health data, data.cdc.gov, before restoring it. Around the same timeframe, users attempting to access data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most comprehensive survey encountered messages indicating that the area was “unavailable due to maintenance.”
Research conducted by Janet Freilich and Aaron Kesselheim examined 232 federal public health datasets modified in early 2023. Their findings, published in The Lancet, revealed that nearly half had undergone “substantial alterations,” with a notable change being the replacement of the term “gender” with “sex” in numerous datasets.
Chris Dick, a former official with the Census Bureau and a member of the dataindex.us team, expressed uncertainty regarding the cause of the website outage. He speculated whether it was due to technical difficulties stemming from staffing shortages or potential issues linked to recent job cuts. “This is key infrastructure that needs to come back,” Dick emphasized. “Usually, you can fix this quickly. It’s not super normal for this to go on for days.”
Call for Transparency and Accountability
As advocates continue to voice their concerns, the outage has reignited discussions about the importance of maintaining accessible government data. The ability for the public to comment on and access information collected by various agencies is crucial for accountability and informed citizen participation.
The federal government is expected to address these issues promptly to ensure that critical data resources remain available to the public. The ongoing situation serves as a reminder of the essential nature of transparency in governance, particularly in an era where information access plays a pivotal role in public health and policy decisions.
