States sue USDA over demand for personal SNAP data; NJ joins challenge to protect privacy
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Monday that the state has joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over a new federal directive requiring states to turn over personal information of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.
The coalition argues that the USDA’s demand—announced in May 2025—would require states to release extensive sensitive data, including Social Security numbers and home addresses dating back five years, for millions of SNAP recipients nationwide. According to the lawsuit, this information is protected under long-standing federal and state privacy laws and is only meant to be used for the administration of SNAP benefits.
“New Jersey law is clear: SNAP data should only be used to help administer the program,” said Platkin. “We are pushing back against this unprecedented demand to protect our residents’ personal information.”
Federal officials have indicated that states could face the loss of administrative funding if they do not comply. For New Jersey, that could mean losing a portion of roughly $190 million annually used to operate SNAP—posing risks to approximately 824,000 residents who rely on the program for food assistance.
The USDA says the information is needed to prevent fraud and abuse. However, the attorneys general argue that the agency has not provided justification that meets legal standards or public transparency requirements. They also claim the directive violates multiple federal privacy statutes, exceeds USDA’s authority, and breaches constitutional limits under the Spending Clause.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, seeks to block the USDA from conditioning SNAP funding on compliance with the data request and asks the court to declare the demand unlawful.
Other states joining the legal challenge include California, New York, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, among others. The Governor of Kentucky also joined the suit.
