The federal govt is a veritable cosmos of #information, made up of constellations of #databases: The #IRS gathers comprehensive #financial & #employment info from every taxpayer; the Dept of Labor maintains the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP) system, which collects the #personal info of many workers; #DHS amasses #data about the movements of every person who travels by air commercially or crosses the nation’s borders; the #DEA tracks license plates scanned on American roads.

#Trump #law

And that’s only a minuscule sampling. More obscure agencies, such as the recently gutted #CFPB, keep records of corporate trade secrets, #credit reports, #mortgage info, & other sensitive #data, including lists of people who have fallen on financial hardship.

A fragile combination of decades-old laws, norms, & jungly bureaucracy has so far prevented repositories such as these from assembling into a centralized American #surveillance state.

#Trump #law #privacy #InfoSec #tech #DOGE #Musk

But that appears to be changing. Since #Trump’s 2nd inauguration, #ElonMusk & #DOGE have systematically gained #access to sensitive #data across the federal govt, & in ways people in several agencies have described…as both dangerous & disturbing. Despite DOGE’s stated mission, little efficiency seems to have been achieved. Now a new phase of Trump’s project is under way: Not only are individual agencies being breached, but the info they hold is being pooled…

#law #privacy #InfoSec #surveillance