A federal judge has placed strict limitations on Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) regarding its access to Social Security systems, amid concerns about privacy violations and potential information security risks. The injunction follows a lawsuit from labor unions and retirees, highlighting issues with DOGE's methods. While DOGE can access redacted data, it must purge non-anonymized information received since January 20, refrain from altering software related to the Social Security Administration, and is restricted in sharing code. The judge emphasized the importance of safeguarding privacy in such sensitive data management.
The objective to address fraud, waste, mismanagement, and bloat is laudable, and one that the American public presumably applauds and supports. The taxpayers have every right to expect their government to make sure that their hard earned money is not squandered.
For some 90 years, SSA has been guided by the foundational principle of an expectation of privacy with respect to its records. This case exposes a wide fissure in the foundation.
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