Cybersecurity Policy Report, AGs Sue to Stop USDA From Accessing States’ SNAP Data, (Jul 28, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:U.S. Department of Agriculture
Attorneys general from 21 states are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its effort to combine into a single database the personal information of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients held by federal and state governments and third-party vendors, California AG Rob Bonta (D.) announced today.
In May, USDA demanded that states “turn over massive amounts of personal information on all SNAP applicants and recipients, including social security numbers and home addresses, dating back five years,” AG Bonta noted in a news release.
“This unprecedented demand that states turn over SNAP data violates all kinds of state and federal privacy laws and further breaks the trust between the federal government and the people it serves,” he said.
“SNAP applicants provide their private information on the understanding, backed by long-standing state and federal laws, that their information will not be used for unrelated purposes,” he said.
USDA said the information was needed to identify waste and fraud in the SNAP program, but the program’s existing anti-fraud safeguards are robust, AG Bonta said.
“In fact, the USDA itself has described SNAP as having ‘one of the most rigorous quality control systems in the federal government.’ Those systems do not, and have never, required that states turn over sensitive, personally identifying information about millions of Americans without any meaningful restrictions on how that information is used or shared with other agencies,” he said.
“Both federal and state law prohibit California from disclosing personally identifying SNAP data unless strictly necessary for the administration of the program, or if other limited circumstances exist. Those circumstances do not exist here,” he added.
“USDA has suggested that it could withhold administrative funding for the program if states fail to comply—effectively forcing states to choose between protecting their residents’ privacy and providing critical nutrition assistance to those in need,” AG Bonta said.
“Alarmingly, USDA’s demand appears to be part of a coordinated effort by the federal government to collect personal information on Americans from every possible source,” he warned.
“Public reports indicate that federal officials are amassing huge databases of personal information on Americans and using that data for undisclosed purposes, including immigration enforcement,” he said.
The complaint itself was not immediately available. It will be filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
AG Bonta and New York AG Letitia James (D.) were joined in filing the lawsuit by the AGs of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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