Privacy concerns cast shadow over Australia's 2016 Census

摘要

"Debacle" is a word many have used to describe the 2016 Australian Census. First came fears that households would refuse to take part because of privacy concerns, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced that it would be retaining names and addresses for much longer than it had done previously. Then, on Census night (9 August), after weeks of encouraging citizens to complete the Census online, the ABS saw its website go down (see "Offline Census"). At the time of writing (13 September), the Census appeared to be back on track. There were sporadic reports (bit.ly/2cTnWoK) of households being asked to resubmit forms they had already completed, but according to 2016 Census chief Duncan Young more than 90% of households had submitted their responses (bit.ly/2cToj2R).