The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and privacy advocates filed a federal lawsuit today against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to halt the sharing of sensitive personal data of millions of Americans.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, aims to block DOGE's access to OPM's vast databases containing private information of current and former federal employees, contractors, and job applicants. The legal action also demands the deletion of any data already obtained by DOGE.
The plaintiffs include labor unions like the American Federation of Government Employees and individual federal workers. They argue that OPM's data sharing violates the Privacy Act of 1974, which restricts the disclosure of federal records without consent.
OPM's databases represent one of the nation's largest collections of sensitive personal information, including:
- Social security numbers
- Health records
- Financial data
- Union activities
- Background checks
- Family member information
The risk of mishandling this data is particularly concerning given OPM's previous security breach in 2015 that exposed 22.1 million people's personal information. The current situation could potentially affect even more individuals, as OPM's systems now contain ten additional years of data.
"This is an unprecedented privacy violation that puts millions of Americans at risk," said an EFF spokesperson. "The law clearly protects this sensitive information from being shared indiscriminately."
Last month, OPM reportedly sent emails to approximately two million federal employees about a "deferred resignation" program, demonstrating how this data access could be used. A federal judge has already temporarily blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury payment systems in a related case.
The lawsuit seeks an immediate temporary restraining order to stop further data sharing between OPM and DOGE, highlighting the urgent need to protect Americans' privacy rights from potential abuse.