Wash. AG Sues Food-Assistance Contractor for Sharing Personal Data with Feds
Fidelity Information Services' (FIS) disclosure of personal information to the federal government about Washington residents who applied for or received food benefits is a breach of contract, the state's AG Nick Brown (D) alleged Thursday in a lawsuit.
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FIS is a contractor for Washington’s Department of Health and Social Services (DSHS) and helps administer food programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Food Assistance Program (FAP). The state-funded FAP provides food to Washington residents who would otherwise qualify for SNAP except for their immigration status.
“The data does not belong to FIS, and the contract between DSHS and FIS specifically prohibits FIS from disclosing this information without ‘the express written consent of DSHS,’” the suit said.
The intent to disclose the data to federal agencies is “a breach of FIS’s contractual obligations to DSHS” and “a deliberate end-run by the [federal government] that flouts a statutory requirement that any request to inspect these records must be made through the State agency and is subject to data and security protocols agreed to by the State agency.”
“FIS’s disclosure threatens to put highly sensitive information about some of Washington’s most vulnerable residents into the hands of a federal government that has prioritized deportation quotas over due process,” the complaint continued.
In a release Thursday, Brown said, “People who need food assistance for themselves and their families should be able to trust that their data will be protected and kept private.”
FIS didn't respond to a request for comment.
In May, the USDA ordered state agency directors to submit SNAP information so it could create a consolidated data hub in compliance with President Donald Trump’s “Information Silos” executive order, which three organizations blasted for being illegal (see 2505150044). Later that month, a coalition of stakeholders filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, blocking the federal government’s data demand.
Though the administration backed off its data demand in early June (see 2506030014), it published a System of Records Notice on June 23 in an attempt to resolve the legal issues and resume the data collection (see 2507180027). A coalition of states slammed that renewed attempt to collect personal data (see 2507210036), though the USDA said its actions are legal under federal law (see 2507220040).