A growing list of removals
A new online tracker has counted nearly 400 federal datasets that the Trump administration has deleted or altered. The tracker, built by the research group dataindex.us, documents at least 28 deleted datasets and 338 modified data collections. The changes span more than 60 federal agencies. Topics include the environment, labor, law enforcement, education, and public health.
The tracker grew out of an aggressive campaign to remove government data that does not align with the administration's priorities. The Guardian reported the findings on August 18.
Health data hit hardest
Health data accounts for roughly 40 percent of all terminated or modified records. Several examples stand out. A database of federal law enforcement officer misconduct records is gone. A survey measuring physical, sexual, and emotional violence against children and youth has been removed. Real-time pollution readings collected by air quality monitors at U.S. embassies around the world are no longer available.
Other changes touch foundational public health tools. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a state-coordinated telephone survey, has had gender identity items removed. The National Survey of Drug Use and Health has had its gender identity question deleted and its sex-at-birth question reworded to binary options. Surveillance tools that track drug overdoses, disease outbreaks, and maternal health were among the most affected.
Worries for research and safety
Researchers and public health experts say the removals endanger the nation's ability to detect and respond to emerging disease threats. Scientists who study local health trends and chemical safety have lost public access to key data. Education researchers face similar problems. The administration defends the changes as a cleanup of content that does not match its goals. Critics say the loss of data will be felt for years, because federal datasets are often the only complete record of a given topic.