Many databases from the U.S. Census Bureau appeared to be unavailable to the public on Thursday, with users being told access was “forbidden” when attempting to download common datasets.
Several economists told CNBC’s Steve Liesman that they were unable to access data from the main Census Bureau website on Thursday, though some were able to access the information through various workarounds.
A few of the datasets that were unavailable to CNBC late Thursday include information on voter demographics, population changes by state and small businesses.
Some databases were still accessible to the public. It is unclear if the restricted data was due to a technical issue or as part of the changes around information and communication under President Donald Trump.
The Census Bureau did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment Thursday afternoon.
The Census Bureau website was one of several government webpages that briefly went dark last Friday following the White House order to remove certain language around diversity, equity and inclusion.
