On February 18, 2025, the sudden departure of Michelle King, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), sparked widespread concern. Her position has been temporarily replaced by Leland Dudek, head of the anti-fraud division, and Trump has nominated financial technology company executive Frank Bisignano to take over as director, the White House confirmed. Multiple sources have revealed that King’s departure is directly related to her refusal to provide sensitive Social Security data to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
**Core of the Conflict: Social Security Data Security and Government Efficiency Gaming**
The Social Security Administration’s database contains the banking information, social security numbers, medical records, and other core private data of 70 million taxpayers. Musk’s team requested access on the grounds of “fighting fraud”, claiming to have found “the largest fraud in history” in the social security system – the database shows that the total number of U.S. social security beneficiaries amounted to 394 million beneficiaries in the United States, far more than the actual population of 334 million, and even the emergence of “360-year-olds” to receive benefits of the absurd record. However, King believes that the leakage of these data may jeopardize the rights and interests of citizens, especially the protection of vulnerable groups. Nancy Altman, head of the civil society organization “Social Security Work”, pointed out that Kim’s position “blocked the way of some people”, and was eventually forced to retire.
**Technical controversy and political tug-of-war**
Technologists have questioned how the Musk team’s misinterpretation of older government systems, such as the COBOL programming language, may have led to data misinterpretation. For example, the default date for an empty field was set to 1875, potentially generating false seniority records. However, the White House’s move to make a quick change has been interpreted as political interference. Trump’s nominated successor, Bisignano, comes from the fintech sector, and there are concerns that he may push for data openness, or even go along with Musk’s previous moves to infiltrate the Treasury and IRS systems.
** Opinion divided: anti-fraud or privacy crisis? **
Musk’s high-profile allegations on social media about the vulnerability of the social security system have been recognized by supporters as a push for government transparency, while opponents have warned that the demand for data in the name of “efficiency” is in fact an expansion of power that could threaten the privacy of citizens. The Department of Justice has restricted access to Treasury systems by the Department of Governmental Efficiency, but the controversy continues to fester. This data dispute reflects the deep-seated conflict between technocrats and commercial capital within the U.S. government.