Fired Federal Trade Commissioners concerned about DOGE data access

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(Reuters) -Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting campaign at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission raises concern about exposure of confidential corporate data, say two Democratic commissioners at the agency who were fired last month by President Donald Trump.

Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya told Reuters they will call on FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson to publicly provide details about the staffers from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, who they report to, and what systems they can access.

A spokesperson for the FTC declined to comment.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s orders allowing DOGE widespread access to government systems including those containing Americans’ personal information have prompted lawsuits and sparked fears that sensitive data could be misused.

Companies report more than 1,000 transactions to the FTC annually, and those files are “extremely sensitive and confidential,” Slaughter and Bedoya said. Regulations require many companies to disclose nonpublic business plans and financial data before mergers and acquisitions.

“This data can move markets. It can certainly change the competitive dynamics in any industry. Under no circumstances should DOGE be able to access this data. We are deeply concerned that they may do it anyway,” they said in a statement.

The risk extends beyond merger files: if DOGE reviews contracts with expert witnesses, it could come across nonpublic information about ongoing investigations, they said. That concern extends to the files of commissioners, the FTC’s in-house judges, and their staff, as well as investigative files, Bedoya and Slaughter said.

The FTC has also gathered information from OpenAI and Anthropic as part of a study of artificial intelligence partnerships. The companies compete with Musk’s xAI.

The staffers should be barred from copying, deleting or editing any files, and should not be allowed to install software, they said.

Musk said in a February interview with Joe Rogan that DOGE employees undergo the same vetting as federal employees.

“If there is a security clearance needed, the DOGE person has to have that same security clearance. There is no reduction in security,” he said.

Bedoya and Slaughter have sued the Trump administration over their firings, saying it violated longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent that says FTC commissioners can only be fired for cause, such as neglect of duty.

The White House said in the email firing the two commissioners that the ruling does not apply to the FTC as it currently exists.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in New York; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)