Key Federal Data Resource Down, Advocates Worried

In a troubling development, a crucial federal website designed to inform the public about federal data collection and facilitate public feedback went offline last weekend. Although it's been partially restored, the outage has sparked alarms among advocates already on edge due to prior data disappearing from government sites since the onset of the Trump administration's second term.

Mystery Surrounds the Outage

The website, Reginfo.gov, was taken down late last week, and reports indicate that data has been missing since August 1, as noted by DataIndex.us, a group of dedicated data advocates and scientists. Users visiting the site late this week encountered a message stating it was 'currently undergoing revisions,' but inquiries sent to the Office of Management and Budget and General Services Administration received no response.

History of Data Disappearances

The situation echoes past events this year, such as the complete shutdown of the CDC's official health data portal, Data.cdc.gov, which later resumed operations. Earlier, users attempting to access vital data from the U.S. Census Bureau faced repeated messages indicating the site was 'unavailable due to maintenance.' Such incidents have raised suspicions among experts regarding the ongoing transparency and accessibility of federal data.

Expert Findings Raise Alarm

Recent findings from researchers Janet Freilich and Aaron Kesselheim revealed that almost half of the 232 federal public health data sets examined in the first quarter faced significant changes, with terms like 'gender' being substituted with 'sex'—a shift they detailed in The Lancet medical journal. This raises questions about potential political motives and the integrity of federal data.

Questions Over Technical Difficulties or Worsening Oversight

Chris Dick, a former official at the Census Bureau and part of the DataIndex.us team, expressed uncertainty about the cause of the outage. Speculations range from mere technical glitches exacerbated by staffing cuts to more sinister motivations. 'This is critical infrastructure that needs to be restored without delay,' Dick emphasized. 'Such outages typically don’t last for days.'

The Call for Greater Transparency

As the situation unfolds, advocates are increasingly vocal about the need for transparency and reliability in federal data access. The implications of these outages could be far-reaching, impacting public knowledge and accountability in government operations.