Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has raised concerns by requesting access to a US tax system that holds extensive financial data on millions of Americans, according to US media reports.
Leading efforts to cut public spending deemed excessive or misaligned with policy, Musk has played a key role in President Donald Trump’s initiative to streamline government expenses. Reports from The Washington Post and other sources indicate that DOGE officials are seeking broad access to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) systems, properties, and datasets.
Among the requested resources is the Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS), which provides “instantaneous visual access to certain taxpayer accounts,” a privilege typically granted under strict limitations. As of Sunday evening, the request had not been approved, but it has already sparked serious concerns within the government and privacy advocacy groups.
Experts warn that allowing such access could pose significant risks to taxpayer privacy. “People who share their most sensitive information with the federal government do so under the understanding that not only will it be used legally, but also handled securely and in ways that minimize risks like identity theft and personal invasion, which this reporting brings into serious question,” Elizabeth Laird, a former state privacy officer now with the Center for Democracy and Technology, told ABC News.
Addressing concerns over the request, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields defended the initiative, stating that direct access is necessary to uncover and address inefficiencies. “Waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long,” Fields told NBC News.
“It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it,” he added. “DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard-earned tax dollars on.”
