Privacy and hunger relief groups and a handful of people receiving food assistance benefits are suing the federal government over the Trump administration's attempts to collect the personal information of millions of U.S. residents who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program .
The lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., on Thursday says the U.S. Department of Agriculture violated federal privacy laws when it ordered states and vendors to turn over five years of data about food assistance program applicants and enrollees, including their names, birth dates, personal addresses and social security numbers.
The lawsuit 'seeks to ensure that the government is not exploiting our most vulnerable citizens by disregarding longstanding privacy protections," National Student Legal Defense Network attorney Daniel Zibel wrote in the complaint. The Electronic Privacy Information Center and Mazon Inc.: A Jewish Response to Hunger joined the four food assistance recipients in bringing the lawsuit.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a social safety net that serves more than 42 million people nationwide. Under the program formerly known as food stamps, the federal government pays for 100 of the food benefits but the states help cover the administrative costs. States also are responsible for determining whether people are eligible for the benefits, and for issuing the benefits to enrollees.