This is the second in a series of briefs describing how disclosure avoidance methods are being applied to 2020 Census data products and implications of those methods for data users.

The purpose of this brief is to explain how and why the Census Bureau applied a new disclosure avoidance system, based on differential privacy, to protect respondents’ information in 2020 Census data products. This brief also highlights how the Census Bureau has engaged with data users while developing this new disclosure avoidance system.