In a groundbreaking legal move, thirteen U.S. states are preparing to file a lawsuit against DOGE, a prominent cryptocurrency company, alleging that it unlawfully accessed government payment systems and may have misused personal data without proper consent.
The coalition, which includes states like California, New York, Texas, and Florida, asserts that DOGE gained improper access to sensitive government financial services, such as direct payment and benefits systems that citizens rely on for various public services, including Social Security and unemployment benefits.
The lawsuit claims that DOGE’s actions could have endangered the privacy and security of millions of individuals, who may have unknowingly had their personal information exposed or collected by DOGE’s system.
The states contend that the cryptocurrency company violated several federal and state laws concerning privacy protection, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the Federal Privacy Act. “Americans’ most sensitive personal and financial information should never be put at risk, especially when that data is used to access essential government services,” stated California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
This lawsuit sends a strong message that we will not tolerate any company’s attempts to manipulate or misuse systems designed to protect citizens.” Allegations of Unauthorized Access and Data Use The case centers on the claim that DOGE, which operates a blockchain-based payment processing network, managed to gain unauthorized access to government payment platforms.
The lawsuit alleges that the cryptocurrency giant interacted with these platforms under the pretense of facilitating payments, but actually used this access to extract data for undisclosed purposes. “The scale of the data exposure could be enormous, affecting not only current users of government systems but also potentially compromising historical records,” remarked New York’s Attorney General.