{"id":22490,"date":"2025-02-19T10:40:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T11:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=22490"},"modified":"2025-02-19T16:27:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T16:27:19","slug":"elon-musks-doge-seeks-access-to-americans-data-alarming-government-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=22490","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk\u2019s DOGE Seeks Access to Americans\u2019 Data, Alarming Government Employees"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last week, Michelle King, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, sought to reassure Democrats on Capitol Hill about the presence of two of Elon Musk\u2019s allies at her agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Social Security Administration keeps medical information, bank account numbers and other sensitive personal data about the roughly 70 million Americans it provides with more than $1 trillion in benefits annually. In the Feb. 11 letter to Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, Ms. King said that the two representatives, from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, had not yet seen personal information \u2014 and said any disclosures would follow established procedures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI share your commitment to protecting sensitive personal and financial information from improper disclosure and misuse,\u201d she wrote in the letter, which was viewed by The New York Times. \u201cWe follow all relevant laws and regulations when granting access to S.S.A. systems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Days later, Mr. Musk&#8217;s team sought access to the agency\u2019s data. Ms. King resisted the request, and by Monday night she and her chief of staff, Tiffany Flick, were out of their jobs, according to three people familiar with their departures. The Trump administration elevated Leland Dudek, a relatively low-level staff member who had previously collaborated with DOGE, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/17\/us\/politics\/social-security-musk-team-access.html\" title>to temporarily lead the agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The episode at the Social Security Administration, which did not respond to requests for comment, has played out repeatedly across the federal government. In its stated quest to root out fraudulent government spending, Mr. Musk\u2019s team of software engineers has repeatedly sought unfettered access to the wide range of personal information the U.S. government collects about its residents. The requests have often alarmed career civil servants used to guarding data whose improper disclosure can in some cases violate federal law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Musk\u2019s team is <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/17\/us\/politics\/musk-irs-doge.html\" title>seeking to give<\/a> at least one of its members, a software engineer named Gavin Kliger, broad access to the data included in the roughly 270 million tax returns that American individuals, businesses and nonprofits file each year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171quhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F19%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Felon-musk-doge-personal-data.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F19%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Felon-musk-doge-personal-data.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F19%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Felon-musk-doge-personal-data.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F02%2F19%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Felon-musk-doge-personal-data.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, Michelle King, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, sought to reassure Democrats on Capitol Hill about the presence of two of Elon Musk\u2019s allies at her agency.The Social Security Administration keeps medical information, bank account numbers and other sensitive personal data about the roughly 70 million Americans it provides with more than $1 trillion in benefits annually. In the Feb. 11 letter to Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, Ms. King said that the two representatives, from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, had not yet seen personal information \u2014 and said any disclosures would follow established procedures.\u201cI share your commitment to protecting sensitive personal and financial information from improper disclosure and misuse,\u201d she wrote in the letter, which was viewed by The New York Times. \u201cWe follow all relevant laws and regulations when granting access to S.S.A. systems.\u201dDays later, Mr. Musk&#8217;s team sought access to the agency\u2019s data. Ms. King resisted the request, and by Monday night she and her chief of staff, Tiffany Flick, were out of their jobs, according to three people familiar with their departures. The Trump administration elevated Leland Dudek, a relatively low-level staff member who had previously collaborated with DOGE, to temporarily lead the agency.The episode at the Social Security Administration, which did not respond to requests for comment, has played out repeatedly across the federal government. In its stated quest to root out fraudulent government spending, Mr. Musk\u2019s team of software engineers has repeatedly sought unfettered access to the wide range of personal information the U.S. government collects about its residents. The requests have often alarmed career civil servants used to guarding data whose improper disclosure can in some cases violate federal law.At the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Musk\u2019s team is seeking to give at least one of its members, a software engineer named Gavin Kliger, broad access to the data included in the roughly 270 million tax returns that American individuals, businesses and nonprofits file each year.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22492,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22490"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22493,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22490\/revisions\/22493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}