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Finding and reusing research datasets: Are you affected by the 2025 US data removals?

Guide on finding secondary data for reserach and identifying suitable data archives for research dataset deposits.

Background

The 2025 United States government online resource removals involve the deletion and modification of web pages and datasets across various federal agencies, beginning in January 2025.

These changes primarily impacted content related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), gender identity, public health, environmental policies, and social programs.

Key agencies affected include, but are not limited to, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Census Bureau, the Department of Energy (DoE), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Responses from information organizations

Data rescue efforts & Alternative sources

Librarians and information professionals worldwide are collaborating to locate and restore access to removed data sources. Here are some key initiatives:

Access over 928 billion web pages archived over time. Install the Official Wayback Machine Extension to easily save websites, view missing 404 pages, or explore archived books and papers.

Volunteer archivists have restored the CDC website to preserve information from before January 21, 2025.

An archive of all CDC datasets uploaded before January 28, 2025, excluding corrupted or non-public data.

Focused on preserving and ensuring public access to federal environmental data, this project has identified 57 high-priority databases, with 37 archived as of February 2025.

Public data has been mirrored and archived on a locally hosted server, including datasets from the CDC, DoE, NIH, and NOAA.

Contact

If you are affected by the 2025 US data removals, please contact the Research Analytics team at research-analytics@bath.ac.uk.