DOGE-Triggered Data Lawsuits Center on Watergate-Era Privacy Law

Several lawsuits have been filed against the US Labor, Treasury, and Education departments, as well as the Office of Personnel Management and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau after allegations that personal data is being shared with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The lawsuit alleges that DOGE’s access to the data violates the Privacy Act of 1974. Enacted over 50 years ago, the act restricts how federal bodies can collect, maintain, use, and share Americans’ information.

Finnegan partner and leader of the privacy practice, Lynn Dupree Parker, told Bloomberg Law that, “The case law is clear about what is or isn’t permissible. So, while we have never seen these circumstances, there is an ‘understanding’ of what is acceptable under exceptions to the law’s consent requirement.”

She added, “It will be a matter of applying that case law to these circumstances.”

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