DOGE, OPM, Treasury Seek Dismissal of EPIC's 'Data Breach' Case
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) filed a motion to dismiss a case about DOGE's allegedly illegal seizure of personnel records and payment system data, claiming that the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) lacked standing to sue, among other issues.
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"This case rests on Plaintiffs’ fear of hypothetical consequences that might—or might not— result from certain federal employees being given access to Treasury and OPM’s data systems," said the government in its memorandum supporting the motion. "But granting employees access to agency data systems is a routine governmental decision made daily across any number of government agencies, and Plaintiffs’ speculation about hypothetical consequences cannot serve as the basis for a federal action."
EPIC, calling DOGE access to personnel records and payment system data “the largest data breach in American history,” filed suit on Feb. 10 in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia. The complaint alleges DOGE illegally forced Treasury and OPM to disclose personal information to unauthorized personnel, blocking civil servants and gaining full access to government payment systems containing sensitive information, including social security numbers, taxpayer ID numbers and home addresses, for millions of individuals (see 2502110056).
"Plaintiffs lack standing, and thus the Court lacks jurisdiction, because they do not allege a concrete injury in fact," said the dismissal motion. "Even if they had standing, Plaintiffs’ claims each fail to state a claim because, as a matter of law, the agency-database access they allege does not violate the [Administrative Procedure Act], the Privacy Act, the Internal Revenue Code, or any Fifth Amendment privacy right, and is not ultra vires agency action."