DOGE accused of accessing Social Security data of millions of Americans

A group of labor unions are asking a federal court to intervene and stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the Social Security data of millions of Americans.

According to a court filing, a former senior official at the Social Security Administration said career civil servants are working to protect the sensitive information from DOGE, but they’re asking the court to step in and help. 

Is DOGE accessing Social Security data? 

What they're saying:

"A disregard for our careful privacy systems and processes now threatens the security the data SSA houses about millions of Americans," Tiffany Flick, a former SSA official, wrote in court documents. 

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The unions want the court to block DOGE's access to the vast troves of personal data held by the agency.

Karianne Jones, a lawyer for the unions and a retiree group behind the lawsuit, said it is not fully clear what kind of access that DOGE might have to personal data about taxpayers. But she said the apparent scope and the lack of information about what DOGE is looking for mean the potential impact is "huge."

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"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," she said.

The Social Security Administration did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment. 

Dozens of lawsuits filed against DOGE

Big picture view:

DOGE's work during the early stages of the Trump administration has drawn nearly two dozen lawsuits. Judges have raised questions in several cases about DOGE's sweeping cost-cutting efforts, conducted with little public information about its staffing and operations. But judges have not always agreed that the risks are imminent enough to block DOGE from government systems.

Elon Musk at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the National Harbor in Oxon Hill, MD on February 20, 2025. (Photo by Valerie Plesch for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Across-the-board cuts at the Social Security Administration are prompting questions about the possible effects on benefits for tens of millions of recipients.

Among the potential changes at the agency are layoffs for more than 10% of the workforce and the closure of dozens of offices throughout the country. It’s all part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce.

What other databases has DOGE accessed? 

Dig deeper:

DOGE has accessed other government databases, including at the Treasury and IRS. The Trump administration has said generally that the efforts are aimed at eliminating what it claims is waste and fraud in government.