According to recent reports from Bloomberg, several American labor unions have sought legal recourse concerning data privacy issues involving the Treasury Department and Musk’s Government Efficiency Office (DOGE). The unions have filed for a temporary injunction, urging the court to halt the sharing of sensitive personal and financial information amidst allegations that the Treasury’s Scott Bessent granted DOGE unwarranted access to the federal payment system. This access purportedly includes confidential data pertaining to taxpayers, government officials, and various businesses, raising serious concerns over potential violations of privacy laws.
The Treasury Department, in its defense, asserted that DOGE possesses only “read-only” access to the data in question and emphasized that this information is encrypted, thereby preserving the integrity of government payment operations. Nevertheless, union representatives caution that without immediate court intervention, there exists a substantial risk of significant and irreversible damage to members’ privacy rights.