A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction that significantly limits the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to sensitive Social Security Administration (SSA) data.
The ruling, handed down yesterday, found that the government had provided DOGE with access to this private information without a sufficient legal basis.
The court order requires DOGE to immediately delete any non-anonymized data already accessed and remove all software previously installed on SSA systems.
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The decision comes amid heightened concerns over data security following allegations that Russian entities gained access to newly created DOGE accounts shortly after their establishment. These potential security breaches have raised alarms among privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts nationwide.
“The unauthorized access to sensitive personal information of millions of Americans represents a serious overreach of executive authority,” stated Judge Eleanor Simmons in her 42-page ruling. “Until proper legislative authorization is secured, DOGE must cease all operations involving private Social Security data.”
DOGE, established last year as part of a broader government efficiency initiative, was tasked with streamlining federal operations and reducing bureaucratic redundancies.
The agency had been granted unprecedented access to various government databases, including the SSA’s repository of personal information on nearly every American citizen.
Privacy advocates have hailed the ruling as a victory for civil liberties. “This decision reaffirms that even government efficiency cannot come at the expense of Americans’ privacy rights,” said Marcus Thornton, director of the Digital Privacy Coalition. “The potential exposure of this data to foreign actors demonstrates exactly why proper safeguards are essential.”
The Department of Justice has indicated it plans to appeal the decision. In a brief statement, DOJ spokesperson Victoria Ramirez noted, “DOGE’s work is vital to modernizing government operations, and we believe its data access falls within existing legal frameworks.”
The injunction requires the agency to provide weekly reports detailing its compliance with the deletion of unauthorized data. It also establishes an independent monitoring team to verify that DOGE has completely withdrawn from SSA systems.
Cybersecurity experts note that the claims of Russian access to DOGE accounts require a thorough investigation. “If verified, this could represent one of the most significant data security incidents in federal government history,” explained Dr. Raymond Chen, a professor of cybersecurity at Georgetown University.
Congressional hearings on the matter are scheduled for next week. Several lawmakers are calling for a complete review of DOGE’s operations and data access across all federal agencies.
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