Trump vs. Musk: Who Controls Americans’ Data in the Wild West of Crypto?

Elon Musk’s Dogecoin antics sparked memes—and now, political scrutiny. As Trump circles back into power, a new battle brews: Can Washington rein in Silicon Valley’s data cowboys?

Tech titans play fast and loose with user data while politicians scramble to keep up. Meanwhile, retail investors keep betting on meme coins—because nothing says ’financial strategy’ like hoping a billionaire tweets your bags to the moon.

Shaheen raises alarm over ethics risks with DOGE departures

In her letter to Trump, Shaheen warned about what she described as the dangerous mix of tech insiders and government access.

“I am very concerned that SGEs [special government employees], many of whom come from the tech field, may return to the private sector and use nonpublic information from the federal government to give their personal business activities an unfair and anticompetitive boost,” she wrote.

Shaheen also said that Steve Bannon, a former WHITE House strategist under Trump, shares this concern. Bannon told Semafor’s Ben Smith he wanted official proof that no one has taken data from the government. When asked whether that meant he didn’t trust Elon, Bannon replied, “Trust, but verify.”

Despite all that, a White House official dismissed Shaheen’s letter as “pointless” and said the employees in question already have to follow federal ethics rules. That includes regulations that forbid them from misusing their position or any information obtained while in government service.

Elon, who gave financial support to Trump’s 2024 campaign, currently leads a mix of high-profile companies. Those include Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink, as well as xAI, which builds artificial intelligence tools like the Grok chatbot.

xAI recently merged with X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, which is currently under investigation by Canada’s privacy regulator for allegedly using user data to train Grok without permission. These developments have fueled even more criticism of Elon’s access to government records during his term in DOGE.

DOGE was created to help cut waste in federal operations, and Trump handed Elon the reins. Since then, Elon has slashed departments, gutted agencies, and proposed eliminating entire regulatory offices—most of which are directly responsible for overseeing his private companies.

Elon’s 130-day term as an SGE is nearly up, and so is the term for several Doge employees. While a few are expected to take permanent government jobs, others are planning a return to the private sector.

KEY Difference Wire: the secret tool crypto projects use to get guaranteed media coverage