Data privacy

The ’Trajectories and Origins 2’ survey, under the joint responsibility of INED and INSEE, is a survey with a dual purpose of research and official statistics. The data processing performed by INED is based on the exercise of a mission of public interest. The raw data are intended for INED and INSEE research teams and are kept for five years from the date of collection before being archived.

Responses to the survey are protected by statistical confidentiality. All persons having access to the data collected (interviewers, statisticians, authorized researchers) are bound by statistical confidentiality.

INSEE and INED take all necessary measures to protect the rights of the respondents.

The legislation in force is very strict in France. In accordance with the law of 7 June 1951 on the obligation, coordination and confidentiality of statistics, INSEE and INED are not allowed to communicate individual information collected during a statistical survey to anyone.

Direct identification of individuals

The ’Trajectories and Origins 2’ survey is an ’individual’ survey, i.e. it interviews specific individuals, drawn at random from the population living in metropolitan France. Interviewing the respondents requires that their name and address be known at the time of collection. 

The interviewers go to the homes of the people selected at random, carrying an ’address card’ paper (which contains the name and address of the person).

However, the data collected about the respondents is strictly confidential. The chosen method of administering the questionnaire (face-to-face, computer-assisted) makes it possible to dissociate the names and contact details of individuals from their first names and their answers. The names and addresses of the interviewees are removed from the databases used for the analyses.

Once the data collection is complete, the address cards used by the interviewers are destroyed. The names of the respondents no longer appear anywhere and cannot be associated with the information collected in the questionnaire.

Indirect identification of individuals

Every effort is made to prevent the indirect identification of individuals. 

Questionnaire responses are processed to reduce the risk of identifying individuals using indirectly identifying data. Indirectly identifying information (such as age, city of residence, occupation, gender, etc.) would be information that could be used to identify a specific individual. For example, the mention of the department of residence and the occupation ’Prefect’ would identify a specific person because there is only one Prefect per department. To avoid such identification and to protect individuals, the information collected on occupations must be aggregated in a way that prevents the identification of individuals (this presupposes, for example, that there are sufficiently large numbers of individuals in each category).

Rights of respondents

Only INSEE and INED are in possession, for a limited period of time, of the files that identify the respondents. The very existence of these files allows respondents to exercise their right to access and modify their personal data, as required by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Respondents may exercise a right of access, rectification, erasure or restriction of processing for data concerning them during the period of retention of identification data. Respondents may express these rights to INED and INSEE.

  • INED

dpo@ined.fr

La déléguée à la protection des données (DPD)

Institut national d’études démographiques

Campus Condorcet

9 cours des Humanités

CS 50004

93322 Aubervilliers Cedex

  • INSEE

contact-rgpd@insee.fr

INSEE – Unité des Affaires juridiques et contentieuses

88 Avenue de Verdier – CS 70058

92541 MONTROUGE CEDEX

       or

le-delegue-a-la-protection-des-donnees-personnelles@finances.gouv.fr

Le Délégué à la protection des données des ministères économique et financier Délégation aux Systèmes d’Information

139, rue de Bercy Télédoc 322

75572 PARIS CEDEX 12 

 

Private individuals also have the right to lodge a complaint with the CNIL.

Sensitive data

According to the amended 1978 law on information technology and civil liberties, sensitive data is any data on racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or trade union membership, as well as genetic or biometric data or data concerning the health, sex life or sexual orientation of an individual.

The treatment of sensitive data is highly regulated by the Data Protection Act. The law authorizes official statistics and researchers to collect and store sensitive data under strict conditions specified by the law (consent of the individuals and confidentiality).

Precautions regarding TeO2 

TeO2 is a mandatory survey. However, in the case of so-called ’sensitive’ questions (health, religion, civic life), people can refuse to answer or answer that they do not know. In some cases, the question is open-ended and the answer is collected ’in words’ so as to let the respondents define their origin(s) or their religion for example. This sensitive data treatment by INED is necessary for research and, in accordance with article 44-6° of the modified law of 6 January 1978, was submitted for assessment to the CNIL, which issued a favorable notice.  

Sensitive data in TeO2