Ready, fire, aim?
Attorney General James Releases Statement on DOGE Access to Sensitive Personal Information
When DataBreaches said, “Send in the lawyers” to sue Musk, she was thinking of personal injury lawyers who handle data breach litigation. But 14 state attorneys general may be even better. From NYS Attorney General Letitia James:
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a coalition of 14 attorneys general in releasing the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of the Treasury granting Elon Musk and his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) staffers access to sensitive payment systems containing Americans’ personally identifiable information:
“In the past week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has given Elon Musk access to Americans’ personal private information, state bank account data, and other information that is some of our country’s most sensitive data.
“As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law. The President does not have the power to give away our private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress.
“This level of access for unauthorized individuals is unlawful, unprecedented, and unacceptable. DOGE has no authority to access this information, which they explicitly sought in order to block critical payments that millions of Americans rely on – payments that support health care, childcare, and other essential programs.
“In defense of our Constitution, our right to privacy, and the essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on, we will be filing a lawsuit to stop this injustice.”
Joining Attorney General James in releasing this statement are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont.
Source: NYS Attorney General Letitia James
(Related)
https://pogowasright.org/doge-betrays-foundational-commitments-of-the-privacy-act-of-1974/
DOGE Betrays Foundational Commitments of the Privacy Act of 1974
Law professor Danielle Citron writes:
Under the auspices of the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” Elon Musk and former staffers—all recent college and high school graduates—have been given access to agency databases teeming with sensitive personal information. The group has entered the Treasury Department’s payment system, which stores federal tax returns, Social Security numbers, home addresses, and birth dates; the Office of Personnel Management’s system, which contains background checks, medical information, bank account information, and biometric data of current, former, and prospective federal employees, contractors, and family members; and the General Service Administration’s system, which stores similarly sensitive personal data.
Condemnation and lawsuits followed, and rightfully so. No one—not even special government employees—should access agency “systems of records” without proper authorization under the Privacy Act of 1974. Nothing suggests that Musk or his employees have such authority. Privacy Act violations are not trivial. Profound harms to privacy and democracy are at stake.
Read more at Lawfare.
(Related)
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/02/teen-on-musks-doge-team-graduated-from-the-com/
Teen on Musk’s DOGE Team Graduated from ‘The Com’
Wired reported this week that a 19-year-old working for Elon Musk‘s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was given access to sensitive US government systems even though his past association with cybercrime communities should have precluded him from gaining the necessary security clearances to do so. As today’s story explores, the DOGE teen is a former denizen of ‘The Com,’ an archipelago of Discord and Telegram chat channels that function as a kind of distributed cybercriminal social network for facilitating instant collaboration.
How lazy do you have to be?
https://www.makeuseof.com/google-gemini-ai-watch-youtube-videos/
Gemini AI Can Now Watch YouTube Videos for You and Save Hours of Time
… Google introduced a variety of new features with the wide release of Gemini 2.0 Flash earlier this week. One especially handy feature is for YouTube. The AI can watch a video, answer questions about it, or even provide a summary. The feature is available on the Gemini site or through the smartphone app, even for free users without a Gemini Advanced subscription.
To use this feature, make sure to select the 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental with apps model from the sidebar.
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