§ 2276. — Confidentiality of information.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC2276]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 55--DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Sec. 2276. Confidentiality of information
(a) Authorized disclosure
In the case of information furnished under a provision of law
referred to in subsection (d) of this section, neither the Secretary of
Agriculture, any other officer or employee of the Department of
Agriculture or agency thereof, nor any other person may--
(1) use such information for a purpose other than the
development or reporting of aggregate data in a manner such that the
identity of the person who supplied such information is not
discernible and is not material to the intended uses of such
information;
(2) disclose such information to the public, unless such
information has been transformed into a statistical or aggregate
form that does not allow the identification of the person who
supplied particular information; or
(3) in the case of information collected under the authority
described in subsection (d)(12) of this section, disclose the
information to any person or any Federal, State, local, or tribal
agency outside the Department of Agriculture, unless the information
has been converted into a statistical or aggregate form that does
not allow the identification of the person that supplied particular
information.
(b) Duty of Secretary; immunity from disclosure; necessary consent
(1) In carrying out a provision of law referred to in subsection (d)
of this section, no department, agency, officer, or employee of the
Federal Government, other than the Secretary of Agriculture, shall
require a person to furnish a copy of statistical information provided
to the Department of Agriculture.
(2) A copy of such information--
(A) shall be immune from mandatory disclosure of any type,
including legal process; and
(B) shall not, without the consent of such person, be admitted
as evidence or used for any purpose in any action, suit, or other
judicial or administrative proceeding.
(c) Violations; penalties
Any person who shall publish, cause to be published, or otherwise
publicly release information collected pursuant to a provision of law
referred to in subsection (d) of this section, in any manner or for any
purpose prohibited in section \1\ (a) of this section, shall be fined
not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.
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\1\ So in original. Probably should be ``subsection''.
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(d) Specific provisions for collection of information
For purposes of this section, a provision of law referred to in this
subsection means--
(1) the first section of the Act entitled ``An Act authorizing
the Secretary of Agriculture to collect and publish statistics of
the grade and staple length of cotton'', approved March 3, 1927 (7
U.S.C. 471) (commonly referred to as the ``Cotton Statistics and
Estimates Act'');
(2) the first section of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide
for the collection and publication of statistics of tobacco by the
Department of Agriculture'', approved January 14, 1929 (7 U.S.C.
501);
(3) the first section of the Act entitled ``An Act to provide
for the collection and publication of statistics of peanuts by the
Department of Agriculture'', approved June 24, 1936 (7 U.S.C. 951);
(4) section 203(g) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7
U.S.C. 1622(g));
(5) section 526(a) of the Revised Statutes (7 U.S.C. 2204(a));
(6) the Act entitled ``An Act providing for the publication of
statistics relating to spirits of turpentine and resin'', approved
August 15, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 2248);
(7) section 42 of title 13;
(8) section 4 of the Act entitled ``An Act to establish the
Department of Commerce and Labor'', approved February 14, 1903 (15
U.S.C. 1516);
(9) section 2 of the joint resolution entitled ``Joint
resolution relating to the publication of economic and social
statistics for Americans of Spanish origin or descent'', approved
June 16, 1976 (15 U.S.C. 1516a);
(10) section 3(e) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Resources Research Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 1642(e));
(11) section 2204g of this title; or
(12) section 302 of the Rural Development Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C.
1010a) regarding the authority to collect data for the National
Resources Inventory.
(e) Information provided to Secretary of Commerce
This section shall not prohibit the release of information under
section 2204g(f)(2) of this title.
(Pub. L. 99-198, title XVII, Sec. 1770, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1657;
Pub. L. 105-113, Sec. 4(a)(2), (b), Nov. 21, 1997, 111 Stat. 2276; Pub.
L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(3) [title III, Sec. 348], Nov. 29,
1999, 113 Stat. 1535, 1501A-207; Pub. L. 107-171, title II,
Sec. 2004(b), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 236.)
Amendments
2002--Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 107-171, Sec. 2004(b)(1), added par.
(3).
Subsec. (d)(12). Pub. L. 107-171, Sec. 2004(b)(2), added par. (12).
1999--Subsec. (d)(10), (11). Pub. L. 106-113 added par. (10) and
redesignated former par. (10) as (11).
1997--Subsec. (d)(10). Pub. L. 105-113, Sec. 4(a)(2), added par.
(10).
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105-113, Sec. 4(b), added subsec. (e).
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 1502 of this title.
