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Pallek v. Rollins
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EPIC is a leading privacy advocacy organization; this case document may be tangentially relevant to AI governance insofar as it touches on data privacy, surveillance, or government accountability frameworks that inform AI oversight debates.
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Summary
This EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) page hosts documents related to the legal case Pallek v. Rollins, likely involving privacy, surveillance, or government data collection issues. EPIC frequently litigates and publishes materials on cases concerning civil liberties and government accountability in the digital age.
Key Points
- •EPIC serves as a repository for legal documents in privacy and civil liberties cases
- •Case likely involves government surveillance, data collection, or privacy rights based on EPIC's litigation focus
- •Primary source legal documents relevant to privacy law and government accountability
- •EPIC's involvement suggests significance for digital rights and electronic privacy jurisprudence
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Pallek v. Rollins – EPIC – Electronic Privacy Information Center
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Privacy Cases
Pallek v. Rollins
May 2025
1:25-cv-01650
DOWNLOAD Pallek-v-Rollins-25-cv-1650-dkt1-complaint-052225 pdf 305.5KB
Contents
Contents
Summary
Background
Plaintiffs' Lawsuit
EPIC's Interest
Case Documents
Challenging the USDA’s unlawful demand to states for the personal data of millions of SNAP recipients
Summary
In May 2025, a coalition of plaintiffs including students, SNAP recipients, MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger , and EPIC filed suit in federal court challenging a demand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for states and third-party vendors to turn over the personal data of tens of millions of Americans who receive help buying food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The plaintiffs are represented by counsel from the National Student Legal Defense Network , Protect Democracy , and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice .
Background
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program available to low-income households. In February 2025, SNAP served over 42 million people in over 22 million households nationwide. SNAP operates as a federal-state partnership, where the federal government pays 100% of food benefits and shares administrative costs with the states. At the federal level, SNAP is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, though its sub-agency, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). States, meanwhile, are responsible for program administration, including certifying applicant households and issuing benefits. As a result, states—and their vendors—maintain substantial amounts of highly personal financial, medical, housing, tax, and other information regarding SNAP applicants and recipients, and their dependents.
On May 6, 2025, the USDA sent a letter to state administrators demanding the social security numbers, addresses, and other sensitive personal information of all SNAP recipients on record since January 1, 2020. The USDA requested “unfettered access to comprehensive data,” including records stored by private companies that process SNAP payments, with no clear explanation for how this data will be used. The letter threatened that any failure to comply with the order could result in the withholding of funds to state agencies.
In an attempt to circumvent states, the USDA pressured companies that process SNAP payments on behalf of states to turn over the personal data of SNAP beneficiaries in their system. These companies include Conduent State & Local Solutions, Inc., Solutran LLC, and Fidelity Information Services (FIS).
In a May 12 let
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