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More than 100 current and former Union doer have litigate Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency agency he runs for allegedlyaccessing highly sensitive personnel office recordswithout proper vetting or authorisation , according to anew federal lawsuitfiled Tuesday .
The lawsuitwas filedin the Southern District of New York by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other privacy group on behalf of 103 workers and various authorities worker unions . The plaintiffs are asking for the government ’s main HR agency , the Office of Personnel Management ( OPM ) , to cut off access to DOGE and its agent .
“ OPM Defendants gave DOGE suspect and DOGE ’s agent — many of whom are under the age of 25 and are or were until lately employees of Musk ’s private company — ‘ administrative ’ admission to OPM computing equipment system , without undergoing any normal , rigorous national - security vetting , ” the lawsuit reads .
The complaint names Elon Musk , DOGE , the OPM , and current OPM director Charles Ezell as suspect .
The lawsuit alleges that DOGE incur OPM phonograph record rape the Privacy Act , which prohibits wrong approach to personal data point , including across Union means .
“ The Privacy Act makes it unlawful for OPM Defendants to pass on over access to OPM ’s trillion of personnel records to DOGE Defendants , who lack a true and legitimate need for such access , ” the charge say . “ No exclusion to the Privacy Act covers DOGE defendant ’ access to record held by OPM . ”
The lawsuit suppose DOGE ’s agents were not government employee at the time they received access to OPM reckoner networks . It calls out 19 - year - old DOGE worker Edward Coristine , whoreportedlywent by “ Big Balls ” online , forbeing firedfrom a cybersecurity house after an internal investigation into data point leaks during his engagement .
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The suit also alleges that DOGE ’s access to federal worker data could activate harmful professional outcome for them , mark that Musk and President Trumphave threatenedto fire employee viewed as disloyal . revelation of their financial data could also give away the workers to hacking by outlaw and foreign actor , the complaint say .
The lawsuit comes amid growing arguing overDOGE ’s access to sore regime dataas the government agency get down found mass layoffs and other reforms across the federal politics .
The lawsuit is focus on getting an cease and desist order to cut off that access , but that is just “ phase one ” before a course of study action lawsuit , according to Mark Lemley , one of the lawyers representing the complainant , WIRED report .
DOGE , OPM , and representatives for Musk ’s companies did not immediately react to request for comment .
