---
kind: "section"
citation: "7 U.S.C. § 2276"
title: "7"
title_heading: "Agriculture"
number: "2276"
heading: "Confidentiality of information"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/7/2276"
units:
  - "Chapter 55 — Department of Agriculture"
---

# §2276. Confidentiality of information

- (a) **In general—** In the case of information furnished under a provision of law referred to in [subsection (d)](#d), neither the [Secretary](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-2) of Agriculture, any other officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture or agency thereof, nor any other [person](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-1) 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](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-1) 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](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-1) who supplied particular information; or
  - (3) in the case of information collected under the authority described in paragraph [(12)](#d-12) or [(13)](#d-13) of subsection (d), disclose the information to any [person](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-1) or any Federal, [State](/usc/7/198.md?p=5), 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](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-1) 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)](#d), no department, agency, officer, or employee of the Federal Government, other than the [Secretary](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-2) of Agriculture, shall require a [person](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-1) 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](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-1), be admitted as evidence or used for any purpose in any action, suit, or other judicial or administrative proceeding.
- (c) **Violations; penalties—** Any [person](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-1) who shall publish, cause to be published, or otherwise publicly release information collected pursuant to a provision of law referred to in [subsection (d)](#d), in any manner or for any purpose prohibited in section[^1] (a), shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.
- (d) **Provisions of law references—** 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](/usc/7/499a.md?p=b-2) of Agriculture to collect and publish statistics of the grade and staple length of cotton”, approved March 3, 1927 ([7 U.S.C. 471](/usc/7/471.md)) (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](/usc/7/501.md));
  - (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](/usc/7/951.md));
  - (4) section 203(g) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 ([7 U.S.C. 1622(g)](/usc/7/1622.md?p=g));
  - (5) section 526(a) of the Revised Statutes ([7 U.S.C. 2204(a)](/usc/7/2204.md?p=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](/usc/7/2248.md));
  - (7) [section 42 of title 13](/usc/13/42.md);
  - (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](/usc/15/1516.md));
  - (9) [section 2](/usc/7/2.md) 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](/usc/15/1516a.md));
  - (10) section 3(e) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978 ([16 U.S.C. 1642(e)](/usc/16/1642.md?p=e));
  - (11) [section 2204g of this title](/usc/7/2204g.md);
  - (12) section 302 of the Rural Development Act of 1972 ([7 U.S.C. 1010a](/usc/7/1010a.md)) regarding the authority to collect data for the National Resources Inventory; or
  - (13) section 10109 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.
- (e) **Information provided to Secretary of Commerce—** This section shall not prohibit the release of information under [section 2204g(f)(2) of this title](/usc/7/2204g.md?p=f-2).

## Footnotes

[^1]: So in original. Probably should be “subsection”.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 99–198, title XVII, § 1770, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1657; Pub. L. 105–113, § 4(a)(2), (b), Nov. 21, 1997, 111 Stat. 2276; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(3) [title III, § 348], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1535, 1501A–207; Pub. L. 107–171, title II, § 2004(b), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 236; Pub. L. 115–334, title X, § 10109(d), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4907.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

Section 10109 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, referred to in subsec. (d)(13), is section 10109 of Pub. L. 115–334, which relates to a multiple crop and pesticide use survey. Subsecs. (a) to (c) of section 10109 are not classified to the Code. Subsec. (d) of section 10109 amended this section.

### Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–334, § 10109(d)(1)(A), inserted heading.

Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 115–334, § 10109(d)(1)(B), substituted “paragraph (12) or (13) of subsection (d)” for “subsection (d)(12)”.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–334, § 10109(d)(2)(A), inserted heading.

Subsec. (d)(13). Pub. L. 115–334, § 10109(d)(2)(B)–(D), added par. (13).

2002—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 107–171, § 2004(b)(1), added par. (3).

Subsec. (d)(12). Pub. L. 107–171, § 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, § 4(a)(2), added par. (10).

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–113, § 4(b), added subsec. (e).