Google This: Algorithmic Oppression

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today to enforce a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request sent to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) seeking urgent transparency about the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) secretive efforts to access and analyze Americans’ sensitive personal information. In its FOIA request, originally filed in February with 40+ federal agencies, the ACLU asked for any records that reveal whether DOGE or its representatives have sought or obtained access to databases containing personally identifiable information, financial records, health care data, or other sensitive government-held records of Americans. The request also sought information on DOGE’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze government data, which raises alarms about the potential for mass surveillance and politically motivated misuse of that deeply personal information. “The federal government cannot dodge accountability by ignoring our lawful demands for transparency,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “The American people have an urgent need to know if their private financial, medical, and personal records are being illegally accessed, analyzed, or weaponized by Trump's unaccountable team of unvetted outsiders. This is doubly true for our seniors and veterans, who are at particular risk if their data has been accessed illegally.” Given the urgency of the request, the ACLU requested expedited processing, which was granted by many agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services. The SSA declined the request for expedited processing and has failed to respond to the ACLU’s appeal, and the VA failed to act on the request altogether. “Granting DOGE access to VA data systems would not only violate federal law but it would undermine the very core of the VA mission: to care for veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors,” said Michelle Fraling, Skadden Fellow with the ACLU’s Center for Liberty. “Given the millions of veterans and family members who depend on VA benefits and services, it is imperative that we have full transparency into DOGE’s relationship with VA and any access to veteran records.” In March, a federal judge barred DOGE representatives from accessing sensitive data at the Social Security Administration. Reporting from the Washington Post, however, has suggested that DOGE personnel have gone to great lengths to try to circumvent the court order. This lawsuit in part seeks access to records outlining DOGE’s access to private, sensitive information about Social Security Administration beneficiaries. “If DOGE is forcing its way into our private data, it is forcing itself into our private lives,” said Lauren Yu, Williams J. Brennan Fellow with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “Congress mandated strict privacy safeguards for a reason, and Americans deserve to know who has access to their social security numbers, their bank account information, and their health records. Government actors cannot continue to shroud themselves in secrecy while prying into our most sensitive records.” The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. You can view the lawsuit here and read more about the FOIA requests here.

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