Access and Privacy Online

Access and Privacy Online


Labor unions sue to block DOGE access to sensitive information at US agencies

WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of labor unions filed a lawsuit Monday asking a federal court to stop Elon Musk’s team from accessing private data at the Education Department, the Treasury Department and the Office of Personnel Management. The suit, led by the American Federation of Teachers, alleges the Trump administration violated federal privacy laws […]

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DOGE’s access to Treasury data risks US financial standing and raises security worries, experts warn

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Government Efficiency’s embed into the federal government has raised a host of concerns, transforming a debate over how to cut government waste into a confrontation over privacy rights and the nation’s financial standing in the world. DOGE, spearheaded by billionaire Donald Trump donor Elon Musk, has rapidly burrowed deep […]

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Judge set to rule on Justice Department’s demands that Musk resume access to Treasury records

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge is likely to quickly decide whether to grant Justice Department demands that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency be allowed to immediately resume accessing Treasury Department records containing personal data for millions of Americans. Judge Jeannette A. Vargas had ordered lawyers to meet and confer over any changes […]

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Ontario NDP, Liberals focus on health care as tariffs threaten to draw attention away

Ontario’s NDP and Liberal leaders tried to keep voters focused on health care Monday, even as actions by the U.S. president threatened to once again draw attention elsewhere in the provincial election campaign. Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford has tried to make dealing with President Donald Trump the ballot question in the snap Feb. 27 […]

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Trump administration orders consumer protection agency to stop work, closes building

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down an agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought, the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget, directed the CFPB, […]

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Supreme Court that Trump helped shape could have the last word on his aggressive executive orders

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will need the Supreme Court, with three justices he appointed, to enable the most aggressive of the many actions he has taken in just the first few weeks of his second White House term. But even a conservative majority with a robust view of presidential power might balk at […]

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The US stopped allowing passport gender marker changes. Here are some of the people affected

The day after President Donald Trump returned to office, Lisa Suhay took her 21-year-old daughter, Mellow, to a passport office in Norfolk, Virginia, where they live. Getting a passport for Mellow, who is transgender, was urgent. In an executive order Trump signed the night before, the president used a narrow definition of the sexes instead […]

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20250208 Access and Privacy Online

Show Notes for Saturday February 8th. Writing: Shaun Fisk  | Production: Patrick Farnsworth  | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder Send comments to: FIPAOnline @ fipa.bc.ca You can support these efforts by subscribing or donating.   Full Show Links Power School and other Data Breaches  Central Alberta school divisions dealing with North America-wide PowerSchool data hack  https://fipa.bc.ca/central-alberta-school-divisions-dealing-with-north-america-wide-powerschool-data-hack/  East Central Alberta review – https://ecareview.com/  Brant PowerSchool update: 15 […]

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Democrats ask for an investigation into DOGE’s access to Treasury’s payment systems

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic lawmakers are seeking a Treasury Department investigation of the access that Elon Musk’s team was given to the government’s payment system, citing “threats to the economy and national security, and the potential violation of laws protecting Americans’ privacy and tax data.” The lawmakers sent letters Friday to Treasury’s deputy inspector general […]

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Musk team’s access to student loan systems raises alarm over borrowers’ personal information

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are pushing back against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as it turns its attention to the Education Department, with lawmakers raising concerns about DOGE’s access to internal systems containing personal information on tens of millions of Americans. In a letter to the acting education secretary, a group of Democrats is […]

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Federal judge blocks Elon Musk’s DOGE from accessing sensitive US Treasury Department material

A federal judge early Saturday blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the preliminary injunction after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump. The case, […]

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Chinese firm DeepSeek’s AI chatbot restricted from some government phones

The federal government has restricted Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek’s chatbot from some of its mobile devices and is recommending other agencies and departments follow suit. The Treasury Board Secretariat’s chief information officer, Dominic Rochon, sent a memo Thursday to government departments detailing the moves he said are aimed at ensuring “networks and data remain […]

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