§3144. Access to information; confidentiality

(a) Confidentiality

(1) Those officers and employees who have access to information under this Act to which the provisions of section 9 of title 13 apply must have been sworn, as provided for in section 23(c) of such title, to observe the limitations imposed by section 9(a) of such title and to be subject to the provisions of section 214 of such title to the same extent as such section applies to officers or employees of the Bureau of the Census.

(2) Only those officers and employees who have sworn to observe the provisions of section 5(c) of the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act (22 U.S.C. 3104(c)) may have access under this Act to information to which such provisions apply, and such officers and employees are subject to the penalties for improper disclosure of such information provided in section 5(e) of that Act [22 U.S.C. 3104(e)] to the same extent as such section applies to officers or employees designated to perform functions under that Act [22 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.].

(3) Those officers and employees referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this section ¹ shall be subject to any other restriction or penalty imposed by law with respect to disclosure of information to which such officers or employees have access under this Act.

(b) Violations and penalties

Whoever is in possession of information made available to any department or agency by virtue of this Act or the amendments made by this Act and discloses the information in any form which can be associated with, or otherwise identify, any person, including any business enterprise or establishment, shall be fined not less than $2,500 nor more than $25,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

(c) Unlawful access

Whoever procures, by fraud, misrepresentation, or other unlawful act, access to information made available to any department or agency by virtue of this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be fined not less than $2,500 nor more than $25,000 or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.

(d) Information immune from process

Information obtained under this Act shall be immune from legal process and shall not be used as evidence or for any purpose in any Federal, State, or local government action, suit, or other administrative or judicial proceeding except as necessary to enforce requirements imposed by law on the collection of information, to enforce the provisions of subsections (b) and (c).

(e) Implementation

(1) The Secretary of Commerce shall be responsible for the implementation of the exchange of information under this Act between the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and shall resolve any questions on access to information, data, or methodology that may arise between the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, except that the Secretary shall not construe this section in a manner which would prevent the augmentation and improvement of the quality of international data collected under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act [22 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.]. The Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of the Census shall agree in writing to the data to be shared under this Act.

(2) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall be responsible for the implementation of the exchange of information under this Act between the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and shall resolve any questions on access to information, data, or methodology that may arise between the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, except that the Director shall not construe this section in a manner which would prevent the augmentation and improvement of the quality of international data collected under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act [22 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.].

( Pub. L. 101–533, §8, Nov. 7, 1990, 104 Stat. 2350 .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act or the amendments made by this Act, referred to in text, is Pub. L. 101–533, Nov. 7, 1990, 104 Stat. 2344 , known as the Foreign Direct Investment and International Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3141 of this title and Tables.

The International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(2) and (e), is Pub. L. 94–472, Oct. 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 2059 , which is classified generally to chapter 46 (§3101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3101 of this title and Tables.

¹ So in original. Probably should be "subsection".