President Donald Trump suggested Friday that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been able to access Americans' personal information with ease due to poor cybersecurity protections in the U.S.
Q: Why does DOGE need access to Americans' personal information?
— FactPost (@factpostnews) February 7, 2025
Trump: Well, it doesn't, but they get it very easily. I mean, we don't have very good security in our country, and they get it very easily pic.twitter.com/kOJtKHub0G
DOGE has faced intense scrutiny following news that Musk and his team were granted access to internal government systems and the highly sensitive data contained therein. During a press briefing, Trump was asked why DOGE needed that access. "Well, it doesn't," he responded. "But they get it very easily. I mean, we don't have very good security in our country, and they get it very easily."
His response set off alarm bells, with critics accusing him of admitting to a massive security failure or even aiding a breach of Americans' private data. On social media, users wanted to know whether the administration had granted DOGE access to government systems or if the data had been obtained illegally.
Many drew comparisons to election security concerns. "If it's that easy to tap into America's financial information, imagine how easy it must be to manipulate votes," one comment read.
"I know our security isn't great: this guy was found with classified documents in his bathroom," another X user quipped.
The comments come as DOGE faces multiple lawsuits over its handling of sensitive data, with allegations that the company has fed government and personal financial information into AI models.
As Musk, a "special government employee," enjoys expansive access to the US government, Trump's comments have done little to ease the American people's growing concern over privacy, security, and potential conflicts of interests.
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