A rather bizarre comparison to say the least.
The article forgets to mention: The disclosures were legal under wartime legislation.
The Census Bureau helped lobby Congress to pass the Second War Powers Act in March 1942, authorizing census data to be shared with other government agencies “for use in connection with the conduct of war.” The provision expired in 1947.
The Bureau denied its role for decades despite scholarly evidence to the contrary.
Bottom line is that it was known, just denied until recently.