Republican senators want to prohibit US app shops such as Apple and Google from hosting applications that accept payments in China’s digital yuan, citing concerns that the payment system may allow China to spy on Americans.
Three U.S. Senators Against Digital Yuan
The legislation, which was introduced on Thursday and originally reported by Reuters, stipulates that corporations who own or manage the Program Store in the United States can not offer or promote any app that e–supports or permits transactions in CNY. Senators Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, and Mike Braun are its sponsors.
Tom Cotton believes that the the digital yuan might offer the Chinese government unprecedented deep insight into all network transactions, raising privacy and security issues for US citizens who use it.
The e-CNY, which is intended to replace actual coins and banknotes, differs from cryptocurrencies in that it is released by a central bank and under governmental supervision.
Cotton said in a statement that the Chinese Communist Party would utilize its digital money to monitor and spy on everybody who uses it. Button emphasized that they cannot afford China this opportunity. According to him, the United States should reject China’s fundamental effort to harm their economy.
An analysis by the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for a New American Security found that China’s digital currency and electronic payments system would likely be a boon for CCP economic surveillance and government intrusion in the lives of Chinese citizens, indicating that payments will constitute detailed information about users and their trading transactions.
The Chinese government has been promoting the adoption of its virtual currency in the country. Tencent-owned WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app, decided to support the digital yuan in early January as government pressure over its usage increased. Earlier this year, the digital yuan appeared in the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, when it was used in an international experiment among foreign visitors and competitors.
