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US Dist Court of Maryland Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander ruled that #DOGE was granted unusual access to non-anonymized #SocialSecurity data & could not identify any basis for that degree of access.
She wants access limited, installed software removed & data taken out of #SSA destroyed.
#law #USpol #Trump #Musk #InfoSec #privacy
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.577321/gov.uscourts.mdd.577321.49.0.pdf
“The American public may well applaud & support the #Trump Administration's mission to root out fraud, waste, & bloat from federal agencies, including #SSA, to the extent it exists. But, by what means & methods?
“The #DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion. It has launched a search for the proverbial needle in the haystack, w/o any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack.”
NEW development on ↑ case
Acting #SocialSecurity head consults w/ #DOJ on threat to close agency
Leland Dudek argues that a ruling blocking #ElonMusk’s *cost-cutting* #DOGE from access to sensitive taxpayer data could apply to all employees.
Acting SSA commissioner Leland Dudek said Fri that he is consulting w/agency attys & #Justice as he threatens to shut down the agency in response to a court ruling blocking #Musk’s team from accessing sensitive taxpayer data.
#law
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/21/social-security-benefits-trump-doge/
Judge Hollander of US Dist Court for #Maryland issued a 2wk #TRO that prohibits #SocialSecurity ofcls from sharing personally identifying info w/ #Musk’s #DOGE, which has been empowered by #Trump to carry out *cost-cutting*
Hollander wrote DOGE “essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion” & “never identified or articulated even a single reason for which…DOGE…needs unlimited access to SSA’s entire record systems.”
In an interview Fri, Dudek argued that the judge’s ruling was *overly broad* & that a reference to “DOGE affiliates” could apply to all employees who access personally identifiable info, or #PII, because they are obligated to cooperate w/ #DOGE.
Dudek said the agency plans to file an affidavit as soon as Fri asking Hollander to clarify language in her ruling….
“Everything in this agency is PII. Unless I get clarification, I’ll just start to shut it down. I don’t have much of a choice here.”
Patty. @pattykimura@beige.partyThis is a disingenuous response from SSA regarding access to PII. And EVERYONE who currently accesses it, knows it. I access PII.
In order to access the database, I must have a specific defensible work related justification for looking at one record or any individual or any individuals records. There is no exception to access any individual or group record to "look for something"; you must be specific about the reason to access that individual's PII that you can define in advance. Which is why the term "fishing expedition" is critical. Those terms of use (with fines and prison for violating) are all over the database, you have to affirmatively click "I agree" multiple times before you can get in.
The real SSA emloyees would not be constrained by this ruling, if they do their jobs and access the database as they always have.
ie: "John Doe of 23 Street
Rd, Omaha, DOB, SS#, has made an assertion under penalty of perjury, I agree, under penalty of law, I will only access PII to look only at John Doe's PII to verify or disprove that specific assertion."
The terms of use clearly prohibit fishing. DOGE has publicly bragged about violating those terms.