In a significant ruling regarding data privacy, a federal judge has found that the Social Security Administration (SSA) likely violated privacy laws by granting Elon Musk's aides access to millions of Americans' private information. The ruling, made by U.S. District Judge Ellen Lipton Hollander in Maryland on March 20, 2025, orders a halt to any further record sharing by the SSA, which was part of efforts under Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Judge Hollander stated that while rooting out fraud and waste in the SSA is in the public interest, it does not grant the government permission to bypass legal restrictions. This ruling sheds light on the extent of the access DOGE staffers had to sensitive databases, which contained critical personal information since the agency’s inception in the 1930s, primarily via a system known as Numident.
Numident, often referred to as the SSA's "crown jewels," houses a wealth of sensitive information about individuals who have applied for or received social security numbers. This includes Social Security numbers, personal medical and mental health records, driver’s license data, bank account information, tax records, earnings history, as well as marriage and birth records.
The judge's decision came after it was revealed that new SSA leadership had authorized 10 DOGE staffers unrestricted access to the records. During court proceedings, it was indicated that agency lawyers admitted to providing the DOGE team access to a "massive amount" of records.
"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, without any concrete knowledge that the needle is actually in the haystack," Judge Hollander expressed during the ruling.
The privacy implications of this ruling are underscored by the fact that sensitive data about millions of Americans was made available without their consent. Judge Hollander highlighted that suppliers of this information expressed little concern for the privacy of the millions impacted by the SSA records made accessible to DOGE.
A lawsuit filed by two labor unions and the advocacy group Democracy Forward claimed that the agency had been "ransacked" and that DOGE members were granted access without proper vetting or training. Following the court's decision, Democracy Forward's CEO Skye Perryman stated, "Today, the court did what accountability demands - forcing DOGE to delete every trace of the data it unlawfully accessed. The court recognized the real and immediate dangers of DOGE’s reckless actions and took action to stop it."
In contrast, a White House spokesperson criticized the ruling, asserting that President Trump would pursue all legal remedies necessary to continue his administration’s attempts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse within the government. Harrison Fields, the spokesperson, stated, "This is yet another activist judge abusing the judicial system to try and sabotage the President’s attempts to rid the government of waste, fraud, and abuse."
As the implications of this ruling unfold, it raises significant questions about data privacy, government oversight, and the balance between efficiency measures and regulatory compliance. The controversy surrounding the DOGE's access to SSA records represents a critical intersection of technology, governance, and individual privacy rights in America.
