Electronic Privacy Information Center Sues Musk in Effort to Block DOGE Access to Sensitive Data of Tens of Millions of Americans 

Washington, D.C. – A leading digital privacy organization has filed an updated complaint in Electronic Privacy Information Center v. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) et al., their ongoing legal challenge that seeks to protect the privacy of millions of Americans whose personal information is being exposed by Elon Musk and DOGE in what may be the largest and most consequential data breach in U.S. history. Democracy Forward filed an amended complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Alexandria Division on behalf of Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and an anonymous federal employee, asking a court to stop DOGE access to sensitive databases containing the personal data of tens of millions of people, including nearly all federal employees and millions of members of the American public. 

“Millions of Americans are having their constitutional rights violated by this egregious violation of privacy and unlawful activity by Elon Musk and his DOGE team,” said Mark Samburg, Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward. “There are systems in place to safeguard this sensitive and private data, but those legally-required systems were ignored by DOGE staff to the detriment of millions of Americans. We are honored to work with EPIC to push back against this unlawful abuse of power and betrayal of public trust.” 

The complaint names a number of defendants, including Elon Musk, Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management Charles Ezell, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Acting Administrator of the U.S. DOGE Service and U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization Amy Gleason, Chief Operating Officer of DOGE Steve Davis, Acting Administrator of the General Services Administration Stephen Ehikian, as well as the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, U.S. Office Of Personnel Management DOGE Team, U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Treasury DOGE Team, U.S. DOGE Service, U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, and the General Services Administration, and offers a detailed look at DOGE’s unlawful actions since being unlawfully created shortly after President Trump’s inauguration. 

Though Treasury and OPM are the legal custodians of extraordinarily sensitive records – records that should only be accessed for specific and limited purposes, by only those agency employees whose roles require such access and who are appropriately trained – the Department of the Treasury and OPM have neglected their legal responsibilities to safeguard the data and have turned Americans’ personal information over to a network of outsiders with unlawful priorities. The access provided by Treasury and OPM has allowed the data, including social security numbers and tax information, to be used for legally-prohibited purposes. 

This amended complaint continues a challenge first brought by EPIC on February 10, 2025. Read the amended complaint here and find out more about the ongoing case at https://democracyforward.org/work/epic-v-opm/. 

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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.