Trump Administration Embarks on Unwarranted Invasion of Privacy

The Department of Treasury has proposed maintaining an extensive database of private personal information and sharing that information with other government agencies and some select corporations. The proposal, contained in a dry “Systems of Record Notice,” would allow Treasury to collect, maintain, and share information, including bank account information, social security numbers, and employment and income information, from eight separate Treasury-run programs. Those programs include programs that provided vital assistance to small businesses, homeowners, and renters during the COVID national emergency. Any personal information Treasury or the states administering those programs collected on applicants, or anyone associated with applicants whose information appears in the files, would be subject to Treasury’s proposal and cross-matched with data collected in the other programs. The proposed practices are disclosed in the Treasury’s February 6 Systems of Records Notice proposal. Systems of Record Notices are usually routine documents the government uses to explain what data it is collecting and maintaining and how particularly personal and sensitive information is safeguarded. Treasury’s proposal diverges sharply from what is generally a routine bureaucratic process .The National Consumer Law Center, along with the Center for Responsible Lending, the National Housing Law Project, and nearly 50 legal service organizations, filed comments in strong opposition to the proposal.