What DOGE could gain by accessing your Social Security data

CNN — When people think of Social Security, they typically think of monthly benefits — for the roughly 69 million retirees, disabled workers, dependents and survivors who receive them today. But word that members of the Department of Government Efficiency is seeking access to the Social Security Administration’s data systems should conjure up thoughts of data on hundreds of millions of people. Because SSA’s multiple data systems contain an extensive trove of personal information on most people living in the United States today — as well as those who have died over the years. Here’s just a partial list of the data the SSA systems likely have about you: Your name, Social Security number, date and place of birth, gender, addresses, marital and parental status, your parents’ names, lifetime earnings, bank account information, immigration and work authorization status, health conditions if you apply for disability benefits, and use of Medicare after a certain age, which the SSA may periodically check to ascertain whether you’re still alive. I’ve been concerned that this particular conversation is fueling profound misimpressions about Social Security and the policy challenges surrounding it.” Until now, access to SSA data has been tightly restricted SSA’s data systems are housed in locked rooms, and permission to view — never mind alter — information on them has always been highly restricted, Romig said, noting that she was fingerprinted and had to pass a background check before being allowed to view data for her research while at the agency — and it could only be data that had no personally identifiable information.