[abernard1]

As a history refresher: DOGE is part of the USDS, created by Barack Obama in 2014.

Dealing with PII was an overt part of their remit, as the Medicare system (written in COBOL) had substantial difficulties dealing with regulatory change, and it was to be modernized. As special government employees, they were 1) consultants not appointed through the regular process and 2) had widespread access to software systems and private data across the federal government. And yes, many of them were the age of current DOGE employees.

At its height, there were 700+ employees with varying levels of access like this.

Accessing PII is normal for federal contractors, even young ones. I worked on the maintenance database for the F-35 strike fighter when I was 23. There are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people through the federal system and contractors with access to information like this.

[LastTrain]

This one has been fascinating to watch because it is moving so fast it is almost not leaving enough time for the conservative universe to marshal their rationalization machine. This is not being run like the USDS at all, there is no oversight, no published protocols, no firewalling. Basically, no rules. This ain't normal, and you shouldn't be trying to convince people it is.

[nathanaldensr]

Thank you for introducing some facts into this cesspool of handwringing and pearl-clutching. Of course, facts will be downvoted, but we both expect that.

[blackeyeblitzar]

Apart from the access being normal, even if it weren’t, it is bizarre that people are obsessing over these details daily. The same people did not care what their administration did daily previously. They probably also were happy to see Trump’s tax returns leaked. They didn’t care when various large security breaches happened last year. But suddenly privacy is a life and death issue. This is partisanship taken to an extreme degree.