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A federal court in New York has issued a preliminary injunction, marking a significant victory for personal privacy. The decision, made by Judge Denise L. Cote of the Southern District of New York, comes in the context of a lawsuit against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for disclosing records to DOGE and its agents. According to the ruling, it was determined that the OPM had violated the Privacy Act and evaded the cybersecurity practices mandated by the Administrative Procedure Act.
The court will review the scope of this order later this week. The plaintiffs, which include two unions and several government workers, have requested that access to OPM files by DOGE agents be blocked and that any previously disclosed information be removed. It is estimated that OPM’s databases contain highly sensitive data on tens of millions of federal employees, retirees, and job applicants.
Judge Cote emphasized that the plaintiffs demonstrated that records were shared with individuals without legal rights to access, constituting a violation of both the Privacy Act and the established cybersecurity standards, resulting in an abuse of trust and legality. The lawsuit has been filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Lex Lumina LLP, and the Democracy Defenders Fund, along with The Chandra Law Firm, on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees AFL-CIO and the Association of Administrative Law Judges.
The complaint asserts that under the direction of Acting Director Charles Ezell, the OPM has unlawfully disclosed personal records to DOGE, in clear transgression of the Administrative Procedure Act and the federal Privacy Act of 1974, which protects citizens from any abuses related to their personal information. In addition to seeking a permanent halt to future disclosures, the lawsuit demands the removal of any data that has already been shared.
The OPM is the largest employer in the country and manages one of the most extensive collections of sensitive personal data, which includes not only identifying information such as names and social security numbers but also salary, health, and benefits data, as well as information about family members mentioned in medical records and background checks.
Concerns about the security of OPM systems have increased, especially following previous privacy breaches, such as the 2015 attack that compromised the information of 22.1 million individuals. The Privacy Act imposes restrictions on the disclosure of sensitive records without appropriate consent, aiming to protect citizens from unacceptable accumulations of personal data by the government.
Prior rulings from other courts regarding DOGE’s activities in various agencies have indicated that they may also be committing violations. This ruling in New York could establish an important precedent for the protection of citizens’ privacy.
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