A concerning development from the Trump administration has privacy advocates sounding alarm bells nationwide: a plan to consolidate data from dozens of government agencies into what would amount to a comprehensive “master file” on all American citizens. While proponents claim this massive data integration effort will help eliminate waste and fraud, the potential consequences for privacy rights, civil liberties, and national security are profound and deeply troubling.
The executive order is an unprecedented scope of citizen data collection. It seeks access to more than 80 databases containing over 300 types of personal information—from sensitive medical records and financial data to immigration status and familial connections. This information has always been deliberately kept separate across different government systems, and for good reason.
When lawmakers enacted the Privacy Act of 1974, they intentionally designed it to compartmentalize citizens’ data across agencies. This wasn’t an oversight or a technological limitation—it was a deliberate measure shaped by hard-learned lessons about government overreach. The Act established a core principle: personal information collected for one purpose shouldn’t be repurposed without consent or proper legal authority.
Privacy isn’t just about protecting sensitive information—it’s a fundamental bulwark against government overreach. Unlike private companies, the federal government wields extraordinary power over essential aspects of citizens’ lives. This includes everything from tax payments and banking information to housing assistance, healthcare access, legal documents, and even freedom of movement. When disparate pieces of information are combined, they create a detailed mosaic of an individual’s life that was never intended to be viewed by the government.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this is a hacker’s dream and a security nightmare. Consolidating vast amounts of sensitive data creates what security experts call a “single point of failure.” What were once numerous, separate targets for hackers and hostile foreign actors have now become a single, high-value prize.
Currently, breaching multiple secure federal systems requires significant resources and several sophisticated attacks. But creating a linked database offers a one-stop shop for bad actors seeking to access Americans’ most sensitive information. The national security implications alone should give policymakers serious pause.
Concerns about government data collection have historically transcended partisan lines. Conservatives traditionally champion limited government and protection against intrusion into private life, while progressives have long advocated for safeguards against surveillance state practices that disproportionately impact marginalized communities.
The proposed data integration raises serious concerns, regardless of one’s political affiliation. For those focused on government efficiency, the massive security costs and inevitable data breaches should not be overlooked. For those who prioritize individual liberties, the profound implications for fundamental rights should be deeply troubling.
Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this initiative is its foundation of distrust, an underlying assumption that citizens are guilty until proven innocent. By creating systems designed to detect discrepancies across databases—which often arise from clerical errors, outdated information, or systems using different standards—the government effectively treats every American as a potential fraudster. This marks a fundamental shift in the relationship between citizens and government. Rather than serving the public, such systems position the government as an adversary who is incessantly monitoring for missteps.
Far from being a barrier, strong safeguards for personal data aren’t incompatible with effective governance. Targeted, narrowly defined authorizations to access personal data—used for specific investigations and backed by proper oversight—can address legitimate concerns about fraud while also preserving essential privacy protections. Rather than dismantling existing privacy frameworks, we should strengthen them for the digital age with clear purpose limitations, strict access controls, and robust transparency requirements and retention guidelines.
Lessons from history are clear: once privacy protections are eroded, they are nearly impossible to restore. Now is the time for citizens to understand the importance of their personal information remaining protected, compartmentalized, and used only for its intended purposes. Without this, we risk living in a surveillance state of our own making.
The post The Dangerous Road to a “Master File”—Why Linking Government Databases Is a Terrible Idea appeared first on American Enterprise Institute – AEI.
