“We are extremely troubled by the court majority’s decision to grant DOGE unprecedented access to Americans’ sensitive personal data. We echo the concerns of the minority, as articulated by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, that the decision creates ‘grave privacy risks’ by giving DOGE ‘unfettered data access — despite its failure to show any need or any interest in complying with existing privacy safeguards.’ It is hard to justify the court’s action, especially in light of the incompetent, reckless manner in which DOGE has already interfered with the operations of the Social Security Administration, prompting a spike in new Social Security claims by older people who fear the situation will only get worse. DOGE’s former leader, Elon Musk, spread lies about Social Security ‘fraud’ and undermined people’s faith in the system. This hardly inspires confidence that DOGE has either the sense of ethics or public service to be entrusted with Americans’ private data, leading us to believe that the court simply is abetting another dangerous power grab by the Executive branch. If Americans’ personal Social Security data is misused or abused by this administration, the Supreme Court’s majority will have been fully complicit.” – Max Richtman, President & CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
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Media inquiries contact:
Walter Gottlieb