Privacy and hunger groups sue over USDA attempt to collect personal data of SNAP recipients

By REBECCA BOONE Privacy and hunger relief groups and a handful of people receiving food assistance benefits are suing the federal regime over the Trump administration s attempts to collect the personal information of millions of U S residents who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Effort Related Articles Feds tout balloting shield using event of Colombian who allegedly voted in Massachusetts Belgian princess left in doubt about her Harvard future following Trump s foreign apprentice ban Trump signs executive orders to boost nuclear power speed up approvals What issues to watch as big beautiful bill moves to the Senate Trump s band is divided on how to tackle the president s vow to ease sanctions on Syria The lawsuit filed in Washington D C on Thursday says the U S Department of Agriculture violated federal privacy laws when it ordered states and vendors to turn over five years of evidence about food assistance effort applicants and enrollees including their names birth dates personal addresses and social guard numbers The lawsuit seeks to ensure that the executive is not exploiting our most of vulnerable citizens by disregarding longstanding privacy protections National Aspirant Legal Defense Organization attorney Daniel Zibel wrote in the complaint The Electronic Privacy Information Center and Mazon Inc A Jewish Response to Hunger joined the four food assistance recipients in bringing the lawsuit The White House did not promptly respond to a request for comment The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Project or SNAP is a social safety net that serves more than million people nationwide Under the initiative formerly known as food stamps the federal ruling body pays for of the food benefits but the states help cover the administrative costs States also are responsible for determining whether people are eligible for the benefits and for issuing the benefits to enrollees As a product states have lots of highly personal financial medicinal housing tax and other information about SNAP applicants and their dependents according to the lawsuit President Donald Trump signed an executive order March directing agencies to ensure unfettered access to comprehensive evidence from all state programs as part of the administration s effort to stop waste fraud and abuse by eliminating information silos That order prompted Elon Musk s Department of Leadership Efficiency and the USDA to ask states and electronic benefit vendors to turn over the info earlier this month Failing to do so may trigger noncompliance procedures the USDA warned in a letter to states Various states have already turned over the evidence including Alaska which shared the personal info of more than residents according to the lawsuit Other states like Iowa plan to turn over the information the plaintiffs say They want a judge to declare the content collection unlawful to order the USDA to destroy any personal information it already has and to bar the agency from punishing states that fail to turn over the evidence