1 week Ago By Lucas Ropek
As Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency burrows through the federal government like a tape worm, it has increasingly requested (and been given) access to large amounts of information on the American public. Now, the New York Times has assembled a modest list of all the data that Musk’s organization could potentially gain access to about the average American and it’s really something to behold. If you’re someone who values their privacy, it’s also sorta terrifying.
The list includes hundreds of potential data categories, including credit and debit card numbers, your employer’s name, your IP address, the high school and/or college you went to, your mother’s maiden name, medical and academic records, your spouse’s personal information, tax, credit, health, and employment history, and much, much more. DOGE has gained access to this information via its forced liaisons with a multitude of agencies, including the departments of Education, Labor, Social Security, Treasury, and Health and Human Services, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the General Services Administration, and the Office of Personnel Management. Indeed, the newspaper says that it has identified approximately “80 data systems in total that have been targeted by DOGE,” though it also notes that its analysis is limited in that it only pertains to systems that “contain personal information about the American public,” and doesn’t include those that might pertain specifically to businesses and federal workers.
The complete list provided by the newspaper, which is described as data contained in “the systems DOGE has sought access to,” is as follows: Trump has enabled DOGE to access this data via a barrage of executive orders . That access has subsequently become the subject of multiple legal complaints, as groups representing Americans’ privacy have sought to clarify why, exactly, Musk’s team needs access to all of that information. So far, the courts have proven to be a limited buffer on DOGE’s reach, however.
While a federal judge temporarily limited DOGE’s access to three federal agencies (the Treasury, the Department of Education, and the Office of Personnel Management) last month, an appeals court reinstated the organization’s access to those agencies just two days ago. DOGE has claimed that it needs this kind of access to root out “fraud” and because it is updating the government’s digital systems. The people Musk has entrusted to helm the DOGE project should also give any privacy-wary American pause.
Included among the supposedly competent and trustworthy group is a 19-year-old nicknamed “Big Balls” who, according to a report from Reuters , previously provided tech support to a cyber crime ring that “bragged about trafficking in stolen data.” So, yeah, I’m sure your information is in good hands..
