US judge blocks Elon Musk team from accessing sensitive Social Security data

A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the access to Social Security data that billionaire Elon Musk's controversial government reform team has had.

In a 137-page decision, District Judge Ellen Hollander wrote Thursday that a group of unions challenging the Musk team's access to systems of records at the Social Security Administration was likely to succeed in its claims that the efforts violated the Privacy Act and a federal law that governs the agency rulemaking process, according to CBS news.

She granted a request for a temporary restraining order that was sought by the labor unions, which filed a lawsuit in February that challenged the legality of the Social Security Administration decision to allow Musk's unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team to get its hands on sensitive, personal, and confidential information pertaining to millions of Americans.

"The defense does not appear to share a privacy concern for the millions of Americans whose SSA records were made available to the DOGE affiliates, without their consent, and which contain sensitive, confidential, and personally identifiable information," wrote Hollander, who was appointed by then-President Barack Obama.

In her ruling, Hollander said the Trump administration had failed to provide a reasonable explanation for why Musk's team needs access to the Social Security data to root out fraud and abuse.

"Defendants disregarded protocols for proper hiring, onboarding, training, and access limitations, and, in a rushed fashion, provided access to a massive amount of sensitive, confidential data to members of the DOGE Team, without any articulated explanation for the need to do so," she wrote.

The judge's order requires Musk's team to delete all non-anonymized personal Social Security information that they obtained and blocks Social Security officials from granting the team access to systems containing Americans' personal information.

Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, cheered the decision as a win for American workers and retirees across the country.

"The court saw that Elon Musk and his unqualified lackeys present a grave danger to Social Security and have illegally accessed the data of millions of Americans," Saunders said in a statement. "This decision will not only force them to delete any data they have currently saved, but it will also block them from further sharing, accessing or disclosing our Social Security information."

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, actions by Musk – Trump's top campaign donor – have drawn widespread controversy and condemnation, from seeking to fire tens of thousands of workers with form letters to declaring Social Security “a Ponzi scheme” and international development assistance agency USAID a “criminal organization.”

Musk has also drawn fire for letting his young employees – who have not been vetted by the government, as required under the law – full access to sensitive computer systems and data, for reasons unknown.