A US federal judge has reinforced existing restrictions on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) regarding their access to personal data held by the Social Security Administration (SSA). In a recent move, Judge Ellen Hollander of the US District Court for the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction that limits DOGE’s ability to retrieve personally identifiable information (PII) from the SSA database. This decision builds upon her earlier action, specifically a temporary restraining order granted in March, intended to curb the agency’s data access.
Judge Hollander’s temporary restraining order had honored arguments presented by labor unions, which posited that DOGE’s activities potentially breached the Privacy Act. The new preliminary injunction provides a longer-term endorsement of these privacy protections, while simultaneously allowing DOGE to gain access to anonymized SSA information, provided that DOGE’s personnel undertake specified training and background verifications.
During a recent hearing, the necessity of DOGE’s extensive access to social security data for combating fraud was contested. DOJ attorney Bradley Humphreys argued that limiting access could stymie DOGE’s operational efficiency. However, Judge Hollander and the litigating labor unions underscored concerns for the discomfort such access afforded to Social Security beneficiaries.
This legal position may be subject to review upon appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Full details of the recent court’s proceedings can be found on JURIST.