There's Another Major Federal Website in the Works That Could Be a Huge Mess

The U.S. Census Bureau is planning to offer households the option of filling out their Census survey online in 2020. Five years out, however, it looks like the system is still a long way from being ready, according to the government’s internal watchdog.

The Government Accountability Office is questioning whether the Census Bureau has adequate privacy and security protections and an accurate cost estimate for the Internet-based rollout.

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Putting the Census online is estimated to cost $73 million, according to the Census Bureau. However the GAO contends the estimate is "not reliable" because it was established in 2011 and hasn't been updated to reflect current technology and design costs.

The report says Census officials "have recognized weaknesses in the bureau’s cost" and "plan to update" how they arrive at an cost figure for going online in 2020.

The Census Bureau itself informed the GAO that it still needs research to figure out how best protect privacy and security, as well as to figure out the languages other than English that it will need to offer for online Census-takers.

The bureau is planning two Census field tests in 2015 for providing data on Internet response rates among different demographic groups.