Background of Open Data

The May 9, 2013 Executive Order, Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information, established the overall direction all federal agencies, including SSA, to move towards an open data environment. The purpose of the order is to make "information resources easy to find, accessible, and usable."

Following the executive order, the Office of Management and Budget issued M-13-13, Open Data Policy-Managing Information as an Asset, which provides more detailed agency requirements for implementing open data. The directive explicitly requires agencies to use machine-readable and open formats. All data released to the public may be used without restriction.

Additionally, M-13-13 directs agencies to create and maintain an enterprise data inventory and to identify in a public data listing those data resources that have or can be released to the public. All of the open data activities must be carefully performed to ensure that privacy and confidentiality are fully protected and that data are properly secured.

Title II of the  Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 requires federal agencies make data open by default, develop and maintain a comprehensive data inventory, and provide clear metadata to the maximum extent practicable.

About Open Data

Since 2009, we have been proactive in identifying and releasing high-value data of particular interest to the public. Citizens, businesses, and other governmental and non-profit organizations need data and its related information for:

• Greater transparency and accountability
• Understanding mission and operations
• Economic growth
• Innovation and research
• Education and training
• Making decisions about their lives, businesses, and organizations

Social Security’s data is about people - their wages, identifying information, employers, addresses, and much more. We cannot publicly release much of our data because it is protected by the Privacy Laws, the Internal Revenue code, and other statutes. While some of the data can be anonymized, much of it cannot. Our open government data transparency efforts recognize these constraints, and all releases have protected privacy in accordance with all applicable laws.

Social Security’s data is about people - their wages, identifying information, employers, addresses, and much more. We cannot publicly release much of our data because it is protected by the Privacy Laws, the Internal Revenue code, and other statutes. While some of the data can be anonymized, much of it cannot. Our open government data transparency efforts recognize these constraints and all releases have protected privacy in accordance with all applicable laws.

If you have ideas or suggestions for new datasets or questions about datasets you have seen on other SSA webpages, you can email us at Open.Data@ssa.gov.

You can access data and information that SSA Open Data has identified to date here.

Resources and Links

• Evidence Act Information
• Scientific Integrity Policy
• Executive Order, Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information
• M-13-13,Open Data Policy-Managing Information as an Asset
• Plan for Increasing Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research
• Federal Enterprise Data Resources
• Social Security Public Data Listing File (JSON)
• Social Security Developer Support

Enterprise Data Inventory Data Assets