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Judge Temporarily Blocks DOGE from Accessing Social Security Records [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-20
One small bit of good news among the firehose of sewage news we’ve been receiving.
This order temporarily staunches the bleeding terror I’ve had about this, downgrading it to merely extreme fear.
Judge temporarily blocks DOGE access to sensitive Social Security Administration systems U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander wrote in a 137-page decision that a group of unions challenging DOGE's access to systems of records at the SSA was likely to succeed on its claims that the efforts violated the Privacy Act and a federal law that governs the agency rulemaking process. She granted a request for a temporary restraining order that was sought by the labor unions, which filed a lawsuit in February that challenged the legality of the SSA's decision to allow DOGE to get its hands on sensitive, personal and confidential information pertaining to millions of Americans. CBS News
Crucially, the order demands that the DOGE boys destroy the data they’ve collected.
The judge's order blocks officials at the SSA from granting DOGE access to systems containing Americans' personal information. It also requires Elon Musk, DOGE and its team members at the agency to delete all non-anonymized personal information that they obtained from the SSA, and prevents them from accessing any agency computer or software code. (Same CBS link as above)
Now, will they do that?
If they follow their course in terms of company takeovers, the whole point is to get that data, that precious data. So we’ll see.
The sensitivity of the data collected cannot be overstated.
(Not under stated as previously stated. Thank you for catching that.)
She accused the Trump administration of giving DOGE "unbridled access" to millions of Americans' private data, including their Social Security numbers, medical records, drivers' license numbers, bank and credit card information, tax information, income and work history and their home and work addresses. (Same CBS link as above.)
This judge recognized the danger, at least. Unlike others.
While other judges have raised questions about DOGE’s sweeping cost-cutting efforts, they have not always agreed any risks are imminent enough to block the team from government systems. AP News
But the judge sees the danger claimed by plaintiffs.
A coalition of government unions, backed by the left-leaning legal organization Democracy Forward, sued over DOGE’s access to Social Security, claiming that its access to private personal information flouts privacy laws and the agency’s own rules and regulations. The Hill
Let’s hope this sticks.
Hollander’s order does not preclude the SSA from providing DOGE with redacted or anonymized data. However, to receive that data, DOGE’s agents must receive all training typically required of individuals granted access to the SSA’s data systems, including on the laws and regulations governing privacy, she said. Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman called the court’s decision “what accountability demands – forcing DOGE to delete every trace of the data it unlawfully accessed.” The Hill
We’ll see.
Please add any appropriate tags.
Be safe.
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