How to Fight an Algorithm

President Donald Trump has swiftly removed Artificial Intelligence protections, exposing people to real-world harms.

There are serious privacy concerns raised by reports that the United States DOGE (“Department of Government Efficiency”) Service (“USDS”) has gained access to federal agency systems, including those housing sensitive information like federal payment data, student loan data or federal employee records, and may be using artificial intelligence technology in analyzing them. The ACLU submitted a FOIA request to more than 40 federal agencies to provide the public with information on what federal records the agencies have provided to or been asked for by the USDS and if sensitive information and key decision-making has been outsourced to unvetted technology.

There are serious privacy concerns raised by reports that the United States DOGE (“Department of Government Efficiency”) Service (“USDS”) has gained access to federal agency systems, including those housing sensitive information like federal payment data, student loan data or federal employee records, and may be using artificial intelligence technology in analyzing them. The ACLU submitted a FOIA request to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and USDS to provide the public with information on what federal records the agencies have provided to or been asked for by the USDS and if sensitive information and key decision-making has been outsourced to unvetted technology.

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with more than 40 federal agencies seeking urgent transparency about the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s secretive efforts to access and analyze Americans’ sensitive personal information. The ACLU also sent letters to key congressional leaders, calling on Congress to fulfill its constitutional role in conducting immediate oversight of this executive overreach and DOGE’s unchecked access to Americans’ data. The move comes amid growing concerns that DOGE—a hastily assembled office created on President Trump’s first day in office—has been infiltrating federal agencies and gaining access to databases, including Treasury and Health and Human Services (HHS) systems, that contain information on individuals’ finances, health records, and social security data. As DOGE reportedly uses AI to decide what critical public services and programs to cut, failure to protect this data not only creates the perfect storm for an unimaginable data breach or hack but also endangers the health and safety of millions of Americans. Ultimately, Trump cannot slash federal programs – including community health centers, refugee resettlement agencies, and early education programs without massive amounts of data, and DOGE is providing him with everything he needs. In its FOIA requests, the ACLU is asking for any records that reveal whether DOGE or its representatives have sought or obtained access to databases containing personally identifiable information, financial records, healthcare data, or other sensitive government-held records of Americans. The request also seeks information on DOGE’s use of artificial intelligence to analyze government data, raising alarms about the potential for mass surveillance and politically motivated misuse of that deeply personal information. The letter to congressional leaders similarly underscores that the executive branch’s flaunting of long-standing legal requirements and norms undermines Americans’ privacy and Congress’s constitutional role. “The American people deserve to know if their private financial, medical, and personal records are being illegally accessed, analyzed, or weaponized by Trump's unaccountable team of unvetted outsiders,” said Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy director of ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “There’s every indication that DOGE has forced its way into the government’s most tightly protected databases and systems, without consideration of longstanding privacy safeguards mandated by Congress. We need answers now.” DOGE leadership is cynically claiming that its employees and representatives, who are largely housed within government agencies, are not subject to FOIA. That is why – in addition to DOGE – the ACLU has sent FOIA requests to more than 40 agencies that maintain sensitive or personal information, including the Treasury Department, the IRS, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security, among others. “DOGE's access to sensitive personal records of millions of people is deeply alarming and raises significant legal questions,” said Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel at ACLU. “Congress must step up, do its job, and check the president’s overreach.”