‘It’s dangerous and it’s going to erode trust’: redesign of US government websites stokes surveillance fears
A White House office called the National Design Studio, largely staffed by DOGE alumni, has quietly redesigned several high-traffic federal websites — including those for passport applications, voter registration, and prescription-drug pricing — and installed visitor-tracking software on them. Critics allege the changes may violate federal law governing how government agencies collect data from the public.
Why this matters: These are not generic government websites. They are places people go when they need a passport, check drug prices, or register to vote. Adding tracking software to those pages means the federal government may be building a picture of who is doing what, at some of the most consequential moments in their lives. The office doing this is opaque, staffed by people who came from a private efficiency operation, and appears to have acted without public notice. That is a real accountability gap. You should be able to use a government service without being profiled for it.
Who should care: Privacy officers · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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