Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks DOGE Access To Social Security Systems

The ruling, which could be challenged on appeal, comes in a lawsuit filed by labor unions and others.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Elon Musk’s DOGE department from Social Security systems that hold personal data of millions of Americans.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander found that the agency gained broad access to sensitive information at the Social Security Administration to search for fraud with little justification.

The judge referred to the work as a “fishing expedition,” based on little more than suspicion.

“To be sure, rooting out possible fraud, waste, and mismanagement in the SSA is in the public interest. But, that does not mean that the government can flout the law to do so,” Hollander said.

The ruling, which could be challenged on appeal, comes in a lawsuit filed by labor unions, retirees and the advocacy group ‘Democracy Forward’. They argue that doge access violates privacy laws and presents serious information security risks.