Bronze Supporter
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So, I received the American Community Survey from the US Census, and didn't fill it out. I was busy, put it on my "to do" list, and didn't get around to it. A few weeks passed and I got a call from some lady from the Census telling me I needed to fill it out. It was a weird call - she was using what I assume to be her personal number because her name showed up on the caller ID. I was a bit suspicious but everything she said checked out.
I said "OK, I'll fill it out and send it in."
She said "You can't do the paper copy anymore - you waited too long. You have to go online and fill it out, or you can give me your answers over the phone. "
I thought she was being oddly insistent, but said "OK, I'll go online and fill it out."
I reviewed the questions and was astonished how much personal information they were asking for. For married folks they wanted to know if you're a same-gender couple or not. For everyone they want to know date of birth, ethnicity, salary, etc.
Aside from the obvious privacy concerns, I was also very concerned about how that personal info could be used to steal my identity if it fell into the wrong hands... and the gov is not known for it's secure handling of information. Needless to say, I didn't fill anything out.
When she called me back I refused to answer the phone. She then texted me saying I needed to fill everything out by 9pm tonight.
I told her: "I am declining to complete the survey. I believe the information requested is quite personal and out of scope of the census. Please stop contacting me."
She replied: "This is a required survey. You may skip questions you don't want to answer, but it's important that you complete the survey."
I answered back: I am not answering any further questions. It is an invasion of my privacy. There is absolutely no reason for the government to be inquiring about my sexual preferences. Please stop contacting me."
She has not replied back. Not sure if anyone else has had to deal with this, but apparently this survey is "required by law" with a penalty of up to $5,000 for refusing to fill it out, but nobody's ever been prosecuted for not conpleting it. There is an active lawsuit against the Census Bureau r.e. this survey and its invasive questions. More info here: https://pacificlegal.org/case/census-survey-privacy/
I said "OK, I'll fill it out and send it in."
She said "You can't do the paper copy anymore - you waited too long. You have to go online and fill it out, or you can give me your answers over the phone. "
I thought she was being oddly insistent, but said "OK, I'll go online and fill it out."
I reviewed the questions and was astonished how much personal information they were asking for. For married folks they wanted to know if you're a same-gender couple or not. For everyone they want to know date of birth, ethnicity, salary, etc.
Aside from the obvious privacy concerns, I was also very concerned about how that personal info could be used to steal my identity if it fell into the wrong hands... and the gov is not known for it's secure handling of information. Needless to say, I didn't fill anything out.
When she called me back I refused to answer the phone. She then texted me saying I needed to fill everything out by 9pm tonight.
I told her: "I am declining to complete the survey. I believe the information requested is quite personal and out of scope of the census. Please stop contacting me."
She replied: "This is a required survey. You may skip questions you don't want to answer, but it's important that you complete the survey."
I answered back: I am not answering any further questions. It is an invasion of my privacy. There is absolutely no reason for the government to be inquiring about my sexual preferences. Please stop contacting me."
She has not replied back. Not sure if anyone else has had to deal with this, but apparently this survey is "required by law" with a penalty of up to $5,000 for refusing to fill it out, but nobody's ever been prosecuted for not conpleting it. There is an active lawsuit against the Census Bureau r.e. this survey and its invasive questions. More info here: https://pacificlegal.org/case/census-survey-privacy/