Borrowers Are Trying to Get Student Loans Forgiven by Claiming DOGE Broke Privacy Law
Several videos that began trending on social media over the weekend suggested that student loan borrowers may be able to get their loans forgiven by claiming Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency was violating federal student privacy laws. However, student loan lawyers say there's likely no merit to the idea.
Videos that have racked up hundreds of thousands of likes on TikTok encourage student loan borrowers to file complaints and lawsuits claiming violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The act, which protects student education records from being shared with third parties, was allegedly violated when data access was granted to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers.
Even if there are privacy violations, Adam Minsky, a Massachusetts-based attorney who specializes in student loan law, says there's nothing to the purported claim that you can get loan forgiveness through FERPA. There's no "private right of action" under FERPA, which means if an individual asks a court to discharge their loans, the case would be swiftly dismissed.
On Friday, the University of California Student Association filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to stop the Musk-led team from having access to Department of Education systems allegedly containing the personal and financial information of student loan borrowers.
Democrat lawmakers are also objecting to DOGE potentially gaining access to "internal systems containing personal information on tens of millions of Americans," according to the Associated Press.
An Education Department spokesperson has denied allegations of any wrongdoing, telling multiple outlets that DOGE staff "have the necessary background checks and clearances" to view Education Department data, adding that "there is nothing inappropriate or nefarious going on."
That dispute between Democrats and the administration aside, the claim that you may be able to somehow get your student loans forgiven because of DOGE's involvement at the Education Department is inaccurate, according to attorneys.
In a video responding to the rumor, student loan attorney Jay Fleischman explained that the Supreme Court established in 2002 that individuals cannot file lawsuits for relief under FERPA. "If you're going to file a lawsuit for violations of FERPA, you're not going anywhere. You're going to waste your time, you're going to waste your money. You're going to get thrown out of court," Fleischman said.
Joshua Cohen, a student loan lawyer, echoed Fleischman's opinions and said in a message that suing or filing complaints for this alleged FERPA violation is not a real way for student borrowers to get out of their loans.
"People are grasping at anything to discharge their loans," he said. "They have lost any faith in the system helping them."
More from Money:
Best Private Student Loans of 2025
Stockpiling Before Trump’s Tariffs? Experts Warn It Could Backfire
Biden's Grand Plans to Cancel Student Debt Fell Apart — but Millions Still Benefited