Privacy advocates urge states not to comply with USDA requests for food stamp data [View all]

Source: NPR

May 13, 2025 4:54 PM ET


As the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) makes sweeping demands on states and their contractors for the sensitive, personal data of tens of millions of food assistance recipients, one payment processor has so far signaled it intends to turn over data to the federal agency.

Meanwhile, privacy and civil liberties advocates say the USDA's unprecedented demand for sensitive state data is unlawful, and warn the request through third-party contractors could be a new playbook for the federal government to gain access to data traditionally maintained by states.

The controversy over participant data from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, comes as Republican lawmakers are proposing deep cuts to the program and the ad-hoc Department of Government Efficiency has been amassing data on Americans and residents from various federal agencies for purposes that include immigration enforcement and searching for fraud. Privacy advocates warn the data compiling effort could lead to government surveillance on a scale never seen before.

Last week, an advisor for USDA's Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services sent a letter to states demanding personal data from SNAP applicants and recipients that included, but was not limited to, "names, dates of birth, personal addresses used, and Social Security numbers" going back to Jan. 1, 2020. The letter said the federal agency would request the data through third-party payment processors that contract with states, and would use the data to ensure the integrity of the food assistance program and verify the eligibility of recipients.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/13/nx-s1-5397208/doge-snap-usda-privacy