Judge temporarily blocks USDA from accessing personal SNAP beneficiary data

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Those receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, or SNAP, are impacted by this week’s latest development involving their personal data.

Gov. Andy Beshear has announced Friday that a U.S. District Court judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking the U.S. Department of Agriculture from unlawfully accessing personal data of those receiving SNAP benefits.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Maxine M. Chesney temporarily enjoined the UDSA from continuing to seek that data and set further hearings on the matter for October.

“I joined this lawsuit because no Kentuckian – and no American – should have to worry about their confidential and personal information being shared unlawfully,” Beshear said. “Millions of Americans, and more than half a million Kentuckians, receive SNAP benefits, and their privacy rights are just as important as everyone else’s.”

In late July, the governor’s office says Beshear joined a lawsuit brought by 21 attorneys general that challenges the USDA’s demand for states to turn over sensitive personal information of SNAP recipients.

Click here to read the order.