US lawmakers propose to ban the Google and Apple app stores from hosting applications that support the digital yuan as a payment method on their sites.
By data Reuters, the initiative was introduced by Republican Congressmen Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Michael Braun of Indiana. Lawmakers say that with the help of the digital yuan, the Chinese government can “spy” on US citizens.
Cotton explained that the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) digital currency allows the Chinese authorities to monitor all transactions on the network in real time, and this creates a privacy and security risk for Americans.
The bill states that companies that own app stores must refuse to host any apps in the US that allow transactions with the digital yuan. Many popular Chinese apps, including WeChat and Alipay, are planning to allow digital yuan as a payment method and are now available on the Google and Apple app stores in the US.
The Chinese Embassy in the United States called the bill one example of aggressive and prejudicial US actions against foreign companies. It accused the American authorities of groundless abuse of state powers. However, the lawmakers’ proposal came as no surprise, as the US government has long harbored suspicions about e-CNY.
Earlier, Senator Pat Toomey had already expressed concern that the use of the digital yuan in the Olympics would threaten US national security, as it could be used to collect information about American citizens. However, former PBOC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said that e-CNY is for domestic payments only.
Source: Bits
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