The Justice Department has called for the public disclosure of admissions information from Harvard College as part of a civil rights lawsuit accusing the Ivy League institution of bias against Asian-American applicants.

In a brief filed in US District Court in Boston on Friday, acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore cited a “strong interest in public access’’ to admissions data that Harvard has tried to keep private as part of a lawsuit filed in 2014 by Students for Fair Admissions Inc.

The nonprofit alleges that the Cambridge-based university “engaged in intentional discrimination against Asian-Americans in its admissions process in violation of federal civil rights law,’’ according to court documents.

In a statement, Harvard spokeswoman Rachael Dane said, “Harvard College is responsible for protecting the confidential and highly sensitive personal information that prospective students – none of whom asked to be involved in this dispute – entrust to us every year in their applications.’’

She added, “We are committed to safeguarding their privacy while also ensuring that the public has the access that it is entitled to under the law.’’

Dane, in an e-mail, said Harvard College does not discriminate against applicants from any group during its admission process.

Separate from the lawsuit, the Justice Department is probing whether Harvard has an admission policy that discriminates against Asian-American applicants.

The brief states that the lawsuit overlaps with the “legal and factual bases undergirding’’ of the federal probe. That means the case could affect the investigation and interpretation of a law that prohibits discrimination in programs that receive federal financial assistance, according to the filing.

“The public funds Harvard at a cost of millions of dollars each year, and thus has a paramount interest in any proof of these allegations, Harvard’s responses to them, and the court’s resolution of this dispute,’’ said Gore in the brief.

The court, according to the brief, should preserve public access to the admissions data unless someone has a “compelling reason’’ for privacy.

Past, present, and future Harvard applicants have a “profoundly important interest in observing and understanding how the Court resolves this case,’’ according to Friday’s filing.

Harvard, according to the brief, has already redacted information that would identify students and applicants from records it produced during the discovery phase of the suit.

Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Danny__McDonald.