by Zola Sigmon
Sat, February 8th 2025 at 5:18 PM
FILE – State Sen. Jeff Jackson, D-Mecklenburg, speaks to students while campaigning at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., Nov. 3, 2021. North Carolina Republicans pitched on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, new maps for the state’s congressional districts starting in 2024 that appear to threaten the reelection of at least three current Democratic U.S. House members. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)
RALEIGH, N.C. (WLOS) — Attorney General Jeff Jackson has won a temporary restraining order against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to protect North Carolinians’ private data.
According to a release, a judge has blocked the federal government from unlawfully sharing Americans’ private data with DOGE, with Attorney General Jackson successfully preventing unlawful access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system on Feb. 8, following his lawsuit filed on Feb. 7.
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According to the Attorney General’s website, the Treasury Department adopted a new policy that grants DOGE associates access to its central payment system, which began on Feb. 2.
The site said the system controls “vital funding that millions of Americans depend on,” including Social Security payments, veterans’ benefits, Medicare and Medicaid payments and more.
The site said the system also controls billions in funding that states rely on to support “essential law enforcement, public education, and infrastructure repairs.”
Jackson, the 52nd Attorney General of North Carolina, sued on Feb. 7 to stop the federal government from unlawfully sharing American’s personal and financial data with DOGE.
As part of his reason for filing, Jackson released the following statement:
“This is federal overreach that puts millions of Americans at risk by exposing confidential financial data without legal justification. For decades, federal protections have been in place for a reason—this policy change violates federal law and threatens people’s privacy and security. Now that DOGE is gaining access to the Social Security system, this matter has become even more urgent.”
In response to his win, Jackson later released the following statement:
“The court recognized this federal overreach for what it is – a violation of federal law and a threat to people’s privacy and security. It is critical that government spending is transparent and taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently, but this process has clearly been against the law. For now, DOGE can’t access the treasury system and the data it holds – including Social Security numbers. We’re going to keep fighting this case to uphold the longstanding federal protections of Americans’ confidential financial data.”
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A Feb. 8 release said the court noted its “firm assessment” that the federal government’s actions risk “the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking.”
The release also said in addition to blocking access for people who are not Treasury Department employees, the order mandates anyone who is a political appointee, special government employee, or non-Treasury employee to destroy all material previously downloaded from the central banking system.
A copy of the Attorney General’s full order is available here.