The Trump administration has confirmed that employees of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under Elon Musk's leadership, improperly accessed and shared sensitive Social Security data. This revelation comes after months of previous denials and raises significant concerns about data privacy and security.
In a recent court filing, the U.S. Department of Justice disclosed that a DOGE team member signed a secret data-sharing agreement with an unidentified political advocacy group. The agreement aimed to analyze state voter rolls to find evidence of voter fraud and overturn election results in certain states. The Social Security Administration (SSA) was unaware of this agreement until November, when it was discovered during an unrelated review. Consequently, the SSA has referred the involved DOGE employees for potential violations of the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in political activity. (theguardian.com)
The court filing also revealed that DOGE members used unauthorized third-party servers, specifically Cloudflare, to share data between March 7 and March 17, 2025. Cloudflare is not approved for storing SSA data, and the agency has been unable to determine exactly what information was shared or whether it still exists on the server. (washingtonpost.com)
These actions have prompted calls for prosecution from Democratic representatives John Larson and Richard Neal, who stated, "The DOGE appointees engaged in this scheme... must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for these abhorrent violations of the public trust." (theguardian.com)
This development underscores the ongoing challenges in safeguarding sensitive personal data within government agencies and highlights the need for stringent oversight and accountability.