New U.S. bill to block Google and Apple from hosting apps that accept eCNY

The U.S. is looking to bar Google and Apple from supporting applications that allow payments in China’s digital yuan (eCNY).

Republican Senators Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, and Mike Braun sponsored a bill that seeks to prohibit companies that operate app stores from listing applications that support payments in eCNY within the U.S. With this bill, the Senators aim to prevent Beijing from spying on Americans.

Cotton’s office noted that a digital yuan could offer the Chinese government real-time visibility into all transactions on the network. The office further stated that allowing the app stores to list applications supporting eCNY would expose American persons to privacy and security risks.

The Center for a New American Security, a Washington a think tank based in Washington DC, previously said China’s digital currency and electronic payments system would be a boon for CCP surveillance in the economy. That is because transactions would contain accurate data about users and their activities.

The bill to bar companies operating app stores from listing eCNY-affiliated apps comes after Tencent-owned WeChat and Ant Group-owned Alipay started accepting payments in digital yuan. Both apps are listed on the Google and Apple app stores.

According to the Chinese Embassy, which is based in Washington, this bill is yet another example of the U.S. deliberate bullying of foreign companies by abusing power on the untenable grounds of national security.