7 U.S.C. § 2276 : US Code - Section 2276: Confidentiality of information

Search 7 U.S.C. § 2276 : US Code - Section 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.
(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.