A federal judge in Washington recently refused to block employees from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive systems at the U.S. Treasury, sparking concerns over privacy and data security. DOGE's actions are part of the Trump administration's broader initiative to downsize the federal workforce. However, the department's pursuit of sensitive data has led to nearly two dozen lawsuits, with labor unions now seeking an emergency court order to prevent DOGE from accessing Social Security data.
DOGE employees have been attempting to tap into Treasury systems containing private data of millions of Americans. This has raised alarms among career civil servants dedicated to safeguarding such information. A February agreement between the Office of Personnel Management and the IRS granted a DOGE employee access to IRS systems, further fueling apprehensions about data privacy and security.
DOGE's efforts have not gone unchallenged. Despite gaining access to databases at the Treasury and IRS, the department remains restricted by a separate court order in New York. Concerns heightened when DOGE's actions seemed to bypass established privacy systems, as noted by Tiffany Flick, who stated:
"A disregard for our careful privacy systems and processes now threatens the security the data SSA houses about millions of Americans." – Tiffany Flick
Karianne Jones, another critic of DOGE's data access, expressed her concerns about the department's opaque intentions:
"Essentially what you have is DOGE just swooping in and bullying their way into access to millions of Americans private data. They cannot explain why they want this data. They can't really tell you what data they want. They just want everything. They want the source code, and they want to do it without any restrictions." – Karianne Jones
The Trump administration has defended DOGE's activities as part of its strategy to eliminate waste and fraud in government operations. Nevertheless, the implications of DOGE's access raise questions about potential impacts on Social Security benefits amidst widespread budget cuts at the Social Security Administration.
The lawsuit against DOGE was initially filed last month, and the Social Security Administration has yet to issue a comment in response. As legal proceedings continue, unions and privacy advocates remain vigilant in their efforts to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access.
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