On Thursday, District Judge Ellen Hollander imposed a preliminary injunction heavily restricting access to Americans’ government held Social Security data from Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Newsweek contacted Musk for comment on Friday outside of regular office hours via emails sent to the Tesla and SpaceX press offices.
Why It Matters
Following his inauguration on January 20, President Donald Trump launched DOGE, which despite its name isn’t a full government department, under Musk’s leadership to slash what they regard as wasteful federal spending.
DOGE has since battled to access sensitive data including Treasury records which it argues is necessary for its work. However, critics have raised privacy concerns and filled a series of lawsuits seeking to keep certain data restricted.
What To Know
Thursday’s ruling by Hollander was in response to a case brought against DOGE by a coalition of labor unions and retirees who argued giving the new body access to Social Security data breached privacy and was a security risk. Hollander had already imposed a temporary restraining order limiting DOGE access in March.
Under the terms of the preliminary injunction, DOGE employees can only access Social Security system data if its been redacted to remove anything personally identifiable, and if they have received training and passed background checks.
Hollander said DOGE or DOGE affiliated employees must destroy any non-anonymized Social Security data they have acquired since January 20, and are also banned from making any edits to the software and computer code used by the Social Security Administration (SSA).
DREW ANGERER/AFP/GETTY
In February, the SAA’s acting commissioner Michelle King stepped down from her post after a row sparked by her resistance to providing DOGE employees with the data they were requesting.
She has since been replaced by Leland Dudek who did not attend Thursday’s hearing.
According to SSA figures, as of February 2025, around 73.2 million people were receiving assistance from the social security programs it administers across the United States.
What People Are Saying
Hollander wrote: “The objective to address fraud, waste, mismanagement, and bloat is laudable, and one that the American public presumably applauds and supports.
“Indeed, the taxpayers have every right to expect their government to make sure that their hard earned money is not squandered.”
She added: “For some 90 years, SSA has been guided by the foundational principle of an expectation of privacy with respect to its records. This case exposes a wide fissure in the foundation.”
Justice Department attorney Bradley Humphreys argued against new restrictions targeted at DOGE, commenting: “While anonymization is possible, it is extremely burdensome.”
Speaking to Reuters about DOGE’s access to Social Security data, Alethea Anne Swift, from legal campaign group Democracy Forward, said: “That intrusion causes an objectively reasonable unease.”
What Happens Next
The Trump administration’s legal team could seek to overturn Thursday’s preliminary injunction in a full court case.
