OPM Under Fire: Privacy Advocates Sue to Stop Musk’s Data Grab
In a plot twist worthy of a spy thriller, the EFF and privacy defenders are suing to stop the U.S. Office of Personnel Management from handing over sensitive information to Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). It’s a privacy face-off that even James Bond would find hard to keep up with!
Hot Take:
Elon Musk might have a Twitter-sized appetite for disruption, but when it comes to federal employee data, it seems like even the courts are saying, “Not so fast, Space Cowboy!” After all, turning the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) into his personal LinkedIn seems a bit excessive, even for a man who wants to build a city on Mars. The EFF and friends are here to remind us that data privacy is no joke, and Musk may need a rocket full of legal defenses to navigate this one.
Key Points:
- The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Lex Lumina are suing OPM to stop data sharing with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
- The lawsuit claims the data sharing violates the federal Privacy Act of 1974.
- Federal judge previously blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury payment systems.
- The lawsuit represents labor unions and individual federal employees.
- OPM’s data includes sensitive information on millions of Americans, with a history of privacy breaches.