Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) has launched a campaign against the Biden administration's efforts to establish a digital dollar, saying it could be employed to collect sensitive financial data of United States citizens.
Emmer, a staunch supporter of the cryptocurrency industry, is backing a bill that would prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Although the Treasury Department has endorsed the development of a digital dollar, officials have said the Fed is still in the research phase of the project.
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Speaking at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, Emmer said the government's motivation for a CBDC is not just to create a digital dollar but also to sacrifice Americans' right to financial privacy for a surveillance-style digital currency, Coindesk reported.
He warned that the government could easily exploit the CBDC as a tool for surveillance and suppress politically unpopular activities.
“Recent actions from the Biden administration make it clear that they're not only itching to create a digital dollar, but they're willing to trade Americans' right to financial privacy for surveillance-style CBDC," he reportedly said.
He also emphasized that the government could program a CBDC to choke out unpopular activities.
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