Do you support Trump Admin's efforts to eliminate federal data silos?

The federal government collects a vast amount of highly sensitive personal data from the public that informs its regular operations and policies. Last year, President Trump issued Executive Order 14243, Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos, which orders federal agency heads to “take all necessary steps, to the maximum extent consistent with law, to ensure Federal officials designated by the President or Agency Heads (or their designees) have full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, data, software systems, and information technology systems — or their equivalents if providing access to an equivalent dataset does not delay access — for purposes of pursuing Administration priorities related to the identification and elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse. This includes authorizing and facilitating both the intra- and inter-agency sharing and consolidation of unclassified agency records.”

This Executive Order has led to legal challenges and concerns from privacy advocates regarding the potential misuse of personal information, with some critics suggesting it creates a "digital watchtower". The administration has maintained that these efforts are necessary to streamline government operations. Here are some other arguments for and against EO 14243.

For:
The primary rationale for the Executive Order is to allow federal agencies to cross-reference data to identify improper payments. Proponents cite GAO reports indicating that fraud and misspending, particularly in unemployment benefits, totaled hundreds of billions of dollars, requiring better data matching to verify eligibility. The administration argues that removing bureaucratic barriers to data sharing breaks down artificial "silos" that hinder performance. By standardizing and consolidating data, the goal is to make the government more agile, similar to private sector efficiency.

The policy directs agency heads to grant "full and prompt access" to unclassified records, data, and IT systems to designated officials, allowing for a more cohesive, "whole-of-government" approach to data analysis. The initiative aims to replace "wasteful processes" with AI and centralized data management. This includes using tools to analyze data across state and federal programs to ensure that, for instance, food stamp and Medicaid recipients are properly vetted.

Against:
Despite the order’s purpose of “enhancing the Government’s ability to detect overpayments and fraud,” the administration has failed to articulate how expanded access to highly personal data has prevented waste, fraud, and abuse. Data silos do exist and are worth addressing, but the executive order oversimplifies a complex information-sharing issue with a solution that is more likely to become a new problem, especially when factoring in the administration’s history of misusing agency data. The best way to address both the challenges caused by data silos and the abuse of data is for Congress to take action.

Agencies are subject to privacy laws and other statutes governing what data they may collect and how it may be used. Prior administrations have also implemented operational safeguards such as security clearances so that not everyone is privy to the same data. Trump’s EO weakens those protocols because now agencies, along with officials that the president designates, can simply ask for the data. For example, last year, at the request of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) disclosed sensitive taxpayer information “solely for the preparation for judicial or administrative proceedings, or investigation that may lead to such proceedings… or any subsequent criminal proceedings.”

How This Meetup will Work:

• We'll start the meeting by asking everyone in the room for their vote on the topic -- Yes, No, or Abstain. You also get up to 30 seconds to give an explanation of your vote, or to say what additional information or arguments you want to hear more about.
• Then we'll have a speaker presenting arguments in favor of the executive order, followed by another speaker presenting arguments against it. Each of these speakers is given 6 uninterrupted minutes.
• After that, everyone in the room will get to participate in a moderated floor discussion. A moderator will make sure that people take turns speaking.
• At the end of the floor discussion, we'll take a final vote on the question. When you give your final vote, you'll also have up to a minute to say what arguments you found particularly compelling, or what you've changed your mind about (if anything).

This will be an in-person meeting. Please note that at SFDebate, everyone gets a chance to speak and is encouraged to do so, but no one is required to speak if they don't want to.

Some links for further reading:

Executive Order 14243, Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/stopping-waste-fraud-and-abuse-by-eliminating-information-silos/

Pitfalls of Trump’s Info Silo Executive Order Compromise Privacy https://www.pogo.org/analyses/pitfalls-of-trumps-info-silo-executive-order-compromise-privacy

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Eliminates Information Silos to Stop Waste, Fraud, and Abuse https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-eliminates-information-silos-to-stop-waste-fraud-and-abuse-60f3/

The government’s massive data dragnet isn’t about efficiency — it’s about fear https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/5472882-the-governments-massive-data-dragnet-isnt-about-efficiency-its-about-fear/

Data Silos, Dossiers, and Surveillance: The Unintended Risks of Federal Data Consolidation
https://www.aclu.org/documents/data-silos-dossiers-and-surveillance-the-unintended-risks-of-federal-data-consolidation

Trump Executive Order Seeks Expanded Data Matching To Prevent Fraud and Abuse
https://www.aei.org/opportunity-social-mobility/trump-executive-order-seeks-expanded-data-matching-to-prevent-fraud-and-abuse/