This week, U.S. lawmakers have proposed new legislation seeking to increase customers’ control over their financial data. A new data privacy bill has also overcome its first hurdle, passing a voice vote in the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee.
Regulators are continuing to analyze how to oversee crypto assets, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) chair is proposing to have “one rule book” for all the agencies in charge of supervising crypto asset providers. The consumer financial watchdog also took the first step to introduce changes in the regulation that sets limits to the late fees that card issuers can charge.
Cryptocurrency
SEC Rulemaking Priorities for 2022 Leave Crypto Out
The SEC released on Wednesday (June 22) its regulatory priorities in its Spring 2022 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. This report lists short- and long-term regulatory actions that the agency plans to take in 2022.
The list includes 53 rules, either at the proposed stages or at the final stage. But the most noticeable issue in this list is what’s not included: any rule tackling the most pressing issues related to crypto assets.
‘One Rule Book’ for All Agencies for Crypto Oversight, SEC Chair Says
The chair of the SEC, Gary Gensler, is talking to other financial agencies, including the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to work together on crypto oversight to prevent cryptocurrency operators from falling through the cracks of the U.S.’s fragmented regulatory system.
Gensler told the Financial Times that he is working on a “memorandum of understanding” with the CFTC to make sure that crypto asset providers, and in particular platforms listing tokens, receive the right supervision and consumers are adequately protected.
OCC’s Hsu Says Banks Need Caution With Crypto as Economy Ups Risks
The recent crypto troubles have only added to Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Acting Chief Michael Hsu’s resistance to allow lenders to have unrestricted access to digital assets markets, CoinDesk wrote Thursday (June 23).
Hsu has been reluctant to add crypto to the wider financial system, and this has been a big hurdle in the industry push toward more mainstream regulation. So far, he’s stuck to his guns.
Big Tech & Privacy
Data Privacy Bill Passes US House Panel
A new bipartisan privacy bill has been passed by a U.S. House of Representatives panel looking to limit collection of personal data, Reuters reported Thursday, though it may not become a law.
The bill would make it so Meta, Google and several other companies would only be able to collect personal data necessary to provide services, and nothing else. The measure passed a voice vote for the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee; it will now go to the full committee for another vote.
Proposed Financial Data Privacy Bill Tightens Customer Data Sharing Rules
House Financial Services Ranking Member Patrick McHenry released a draft bill on Thursday that seeks to modernize financial data privacy laws and give consumers more control over how their personal information is collected and used.
The draft bill focuses on nonpublic personal information. The text also recognizes the need for consumers to control how their personal information will be used beyond financial institutions (FI), which is why the proposed bill includes data aggregators, who will be bound by the same rules as traditional FI.
Apple Fights Big Tech Regulation Over App Payments
Apple leaders are worried that an antitrust bill focused on opening the app store market will make iPhones less secure, despite assurances from Congress, according to a Bloomberg report Thursday.
Congress and some large firms already use Apple-approved tools that let them bypass the App Store and install third-party apps in a practice called side-loading, the report said. Apple maintains that it’s the only company that can promise a fully secure App Store to its customers. Antitrust advocates and cybersecurity specialists, though, say Apple is looking to protect its business model more than its customers.
FTC Warns Congress About Using AI to Combat Harmful Speech
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a report to Congress warning about using artificial intelligence (AI) to combat online harm and urging policymakers to exercise “great caution” when relying on AI as a policy solution.
The 82-page report shows a rather negative view of using AI as a tool to control other forms of AI, at least to fix certain online problems. The key conclusion for the FTC is that governments, platforms and others must exercise great caution in either mandating the use of or overly relying on these tools, even for the important purpose of reducing harm.
Payments
CFPB Wants To Use Banks’ Revenue Data To Change Card Late Fees
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took its first step on Wednesday to change the regulation affecting credit card late fees. The Bureau published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) seeking data about credit card late fees and late payments to assess whether those fees are “reasonable and proportional.”
Additionally, the CFPB is also asking card issuers about their revenue and expense, the potential deterrent effect of late fees and the role late fees play in credit card companies’ profitability. While the notice published only seeks to gather information at this point, the CFPB is reviewing the Fed’s immunity provision and it will determine whether adjustments in late fees rules are needed.
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