Written by: Manpreet Kaur
Edited by: Melineh Kalantar Ohanian
In a new era of American Democracy under President Donald Trump, the most dangerous and dominant influence is Elon Musk, [1] head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”). Supposedly, DOGE was designed to fight corruption and fraud within the government. [2] Under the directive Modernizing Federal Technology and Software to Maximize Efficiency and Productivity, federal agency leaders must now ensure DOGE teams have “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems.” [3]
Why Does it Matter?
Musk is at the forefront of an unprecedented consolidation of access and control over the federal government’s information infrastructure. Government databases contain highly sensitive information, [4] including: Social Security numbers, immigration files, intelligence reports, forensics data, biometrics, and health records. [5] Federal employees undergo rigorous vetting and background checks to access these records – yet [6] DOGE itself operates in secrecy. [7] DOGE is exempt from Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) disclosures because of its placement within the Executive Office of the President. [8] The consequences are alarming. Musk’s DOGE has “God Mode” access to government data, [9] but how this data is being used remains unclear. [10] In one instance, Musk’s aides locked the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”) employees out of their own computer systems, [11] leaving officials with “no visibility into what they are doing with the computer and data systems.” [12] DOGE officials even moved sofa beds into OPM headquarters, signaling a complete takeover of the agency. [13] This is not just modernization, it is systematic control.
A Dangerous Free Flow of Data
By linking federal data systems, DOGE creates a network where information flows freely, magnifying privacy risks. [14] The combined information “can reveal the details of a persons’ life that any one piece of information, or even one database, could not.” [15] Even more troubling, DOGE may be using artificial intelligence (“AI”) to analyze the information, increasing the risk of data leaks, abuse, and cyberattacks. [16] With no meaningful oversight, Musk and DOGE have unfettered power to manipulate, exploit, and repurpose government data. This is an unprecedented breach of privacy.
This data can be weaponized. DOGE officials initially claimed they had “read-only access,” to review records and transactions. However, reports indicate that DOGE actively tried to block payments from the U.S. Treasury to the U.S. Agency for International Development. [17] The potential for abuse is staggering, Musk and DOGE could create dossiers on individuals. [18] If the data can be used to damage citizens, it will be used to damage them. [19] Additionally, using AI-driven in DOGE operations could lead to hallucinations of incorrect information [20] and false accusations with real consequences for innocent Americans. [21]
The Legal Battle Against DOGE
With traditional legal safeguards weakened, who will protect our privacy?
Civil liberties organizations and litigants were quick to act. The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) filed FOIA requests with more than 40 federal agencies to investigate DOGE’s employees and operations. [22] Multiple lawsuits, particularly those citing Privacy Act violations. [23] The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (“EPIC”), alongside federal workers, have petitioned the courts to bar DOGE from accessing millions of Americans’s private information stored by federal agencies like OPM, [24] arguing it prevents the disclosure of records without consent and notice. [25] If successful, these lawsuits could block DOGE’s unchecked access to federal databases.
Federal judges are beginning to hold Musk and DODGE accountable. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered DOGE and Musk to turn over documents detailing the scope of their authority as they move to dismantle federal bureaucracy. [26] U.S. District Judge Jeannette A. Vargas went further, issuing a temporary preliminary restraining order against DOGE from accessing the Treasury payment systems. She also ordered Treasury officials to submit a detailed report on DOGE’s staff members, including training, vetting, and security clearances. [27]
As Americans navigate this digital and political dystopia, the urgency to act has never been greater. Accountability must be restored before DOGE’s unchecked power reshapes the government’s control over information permanently. It is a fight for the fundamental right to privacy.
1 Holly Honderich, ‘People Seem Dumbstruck‘ – Inside Musk’s Race to Upend Government, BBC, (Feb. 5, 2025) https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1dg95dyxygo [https://perma.cc/36M3-294K].
2 Peter Baker, Trump and Musk Hunt for Corruption, Very Selectively, N.Y. Times, (Feb. 12, 2025) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/us/politics/trump-musk-corruption.html [https://perma.cc/K4TN-N4EC].
3 Establishing and Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency”, White House, (Jan. 20, 2025) https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/establishing-and-implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency/ [https://perma.cc/LNH9-XG2A].
4 Government Databases, Elec. Priv. Info., https://epic.org/issues/surveillance-oversight/government-databases/ (last visited Mar. 15, 2025).
5 Id.
6 Baker, supra note 2.
7 Nicole Alvarez, How Is DOGE Abusing its Power?, Ctr. for Am. Progress, (Mar. 10, 2025) https://www.americanprogress.org/article/how-is-doge-abusing-its-power/ [https://perma.cc/UC2Y-3H54].
8 Alvarez, supra note 7.
9 Charlie Warzel, et al., DOGE Has ‘God Mode’ Access to Government Data, (Feb. 19, 2025) https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/02/doge-god-mode-access/681719/[https://perma.cc/PC2M-AXW7].
10 Id.
11 Tim Reid, Exclusive: Musk Aides Lock Workers Out of OPM Computer Systems, Reuters, (Feb. 2, 2025 at 2:32 PM PST) https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-aides-lock-government-workers-out-computer-systems-us-agency-sources-say-2025-01-31/ [https://perma.cc/72RE-MHL9].
12 Id.
13 Id.
14 EPIC, supra note 4.
15 Id.
16 Hannah Natanson, Et. Al., Elon Musk’s DOGE is feeding sensitive federal data into AI to target cuts, THE WASHINGTON POST, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/06/elon-musk-doge-ai-department-education/ (Last updated Feb. 6, 2025).
17 Alvarez, How Is DOGE Abusing its Power?, ASSOCIATED PRESS NEWS, (Mar. 10, 2025)
https://apnews.com/article/treasury-doge-musk-read-onlyaccess-489231c6db1a9f07fc68f9f08803f815.
18 Laurel Wamsley, The government already knows a lot about you. DOGE is trying to access all of it, NPR (Mar. 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM ET) https://www.npr.org/2025/03/11/nx-s1-5305054/doge-elon-musk-security-data-information-privacy.
19 Id.
20 Natanson, supra at footnote 16.
21 Stephen Fowler, Federal Agencies Plan For Mass Layoffs As Trump’s Workforce Cuts Continue, NPR, https://www.npr.org/2025/03/15/nx-s1-5328721/reduction-in-force-rif-federal-workers-job-cuts-musk-doge-layoffs (last updated Mar. 15, 2025 at 9:18 AM ET).
22 U.S. DOGE Service Access to Sensitive Agency Records Systems FOIA, AM. C.L. UNION,
https://www.aclu.org/cases/u-s-doge-service-access-to-sensitive-agency-records-systems-foia (Last updated Feb. 7, 2025).
23 Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, U.S. DEP’T. JUST., https://bja.ojp.gov/program/it/privacy-civil-liberties/authorities/statutes/1279 (Last visited Mar. 19, 2025) (It’s purpose is to balance the government’s need of information about individuals with the individual’s right to protection against unwarranted invasions of privacy).
24 EFF Sues OPM, DOGE and Musk for Endangering the Privacy of Millions, Elect. Frontier Found., (Feb. 11, 2025) https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-sues-opm-doge-and-musk-endangering-privacy-millions?utm_source=chatgpt.com (Press Release) [https://perma.cc/ET8J-ZUBL]; American Federation Of Government Employees, AFL-CIO et al v. United States Office of Personnel Management Et. Al., U.S. Courts, https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/cameras-courts/american-federation-government-employees-afl-cio-et-al-v-united-states-office-personnel-management (Last updated Mar. 13, 2025); Zoe Tillman, Judge Orders Musk’s DOGE, Agency Staff to Testify in Lawsuit, BLOOMBERG L.(Feb. 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM PST) https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/judge-orders-musks-doge-agency-staff-to-testify-in-lawsuit [perma link].
25 U.S. Dep’t. of Justice, supra note 23.
26 Josh Gerstein &Kyle Cheney, Judge Orders DOGE and Elon Musk To Turn Over Documents, Answer Written Questions, POLITICO, (Mar. 12, 2025 at 9:19 PM EDT) https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/12/elon-musk-judge-orders-discovery-00227924 [https://perma.cc/A8JE-QLXG].
27 States Newsroom Staff, Democratic AGs Win Preliminary Injunction Against DOGE Access to Treasury Payment Systems, NC Newsline, (Feb. 22, 2025 at 8:30 AM) https://ncnewsline.com/2025/02/22/repub/democratic-ags-win-preliminary-injunction-against-doge-access-to-treasury-payment-systems/ [https://perma.cc/KE5L-UZKY].
