Summary

House Democrats allege DOGE, the agency created by Elon Musk to shrink government, is building a “cross-agency master database” of Americans’ sensitive data.

“Mass amounts” of personal information from the IRS, SSA, and voter records were uploaded into USCIS servers. Whistleblowers reported DOGE engineers accessed systems with “backpacks full of laptops,” each linked to different agencies.

This effort “disregards important cybersecurity and privacy considerations.” Rep. Connolly warned it could “violate several privacy laws.”

“Aggregation of data is building a weapon,” said John Davisson of EPIC. “It’s terrifying.”

  • John Carlsen 🇺🇸🇳🇱🇪🇺@sfba.social
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    1 day ago

    @MicroWave

    If true, Elon Musk likely violated the Privacy Act of 1974 and should be prosecuted accordingly.

    From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy/_Act/_of/_1974 :

    “The Privacy Act prohibits the disclosure of information from a system of records absent of the written consent of the subject individual, unless the disclosure is pursuant to one of twelve statutory exceptions. The Act also provides individuals with a means by which to seek access to and amendment of their records and sets forth various agency record-keeping requirements. Additionally, with people granted the right to review what was documented with their name, they are also able to find out if the ‘records have been disclosed’ and are also given the right to make corrections.”

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
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      1 day ago

      He just gave the orders, someone else actually did the crime. If need be they’ll take the hit and later get a pardon or something.

      • Chozo@fedia.io
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        1 day ago

        RICO, from just a few years prior to the aforementioned act, makes it so that the one issuing the orders takes the fall.

      • altkey@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        23 hours ago

        That’s why there was a problem linking Elon to DOGE and government. On paper he is like an advisor iirc, and his minions are some nobodies he met through programs for students at space x and tesla.

    • CurlyWurlies4All@slrpnk.net
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      24 hours ago

      Rebuilding the Nazi system of documentation while claiming the legacy of their opponents. Good work everyone. At least egg prices are…