How CBDCs Threaten Privacy and Freedom — Real World Examples
Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are quickly progressing from abstract concept to concrete reality. But recent disturbing episodes underscore how CBDCs fundamentally jeopardize privacy and freedom when centralized governments control their design.
The UK Government Targets Russell Brand
Comedian Russell Brand found himself targeted by alarming UK government actions seeking to cut off his income. This followed sexual misconduct allegations against Brand by a UK tabloid.
Despite no trial or conviction, a UK parliamentary committee wrote to tech platforms like TikTok and Rumble demanding to know if Brand earned money from his content. The committee suggested it was improper for Brand to “monetize” his defense against the media claims on social channels.
No due process or rule of law was extended to Brand before the government moved to obstruct his speech and livelihood absent any judicial findings. The committee’s attitude rejects cornerstone democratic principles like presumed innocence.
Maxine Waters Pushes the “Digital Dollar”
In Congress, Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters also reprimanded Republicans for resisting a potential “digital dollar” CBDC. She slammed legislation cautioning against CBDCs as “deeply anti-innovation.”
Waters stressed CBDCs could let the U.S. “[keep] up with China” in the “global race” for central bank digital money. She warned failure to advance a digital dollar risked undermining the greenback as the dominant reserve currency.
Yet Waters ignores the profound financial surveillance and control enabled by centralized CBDCs as designed today. Her priorities disregard individual rights in favor of state power.
How CBDCs Enable Authoritarian Control
Unlike neutral cryptocurrencies, CBDCs inherently concentrate monetary power with governments. Once cash is phased out, states can monitor every transaction and freeze any account for any reason.
A Chinese central bank official recently affirmed the ability to “freeze CBDC wallets” would become a key feature of their digital yuan. This is the real motivation for CBDCs — financial omniscience granting unlimited authority.
The Brand and Waters cases highlight how today’s politicians crave control over money itself to censor dissent and assert dominion. CBDCs would irrevocably realize this technocratic desire at the public’s expense.
Cryptocurrency Guards Against CBDCs
Government CBDCs must be resisted before it’s too late. We cannot rely on politicians tempted by power to self-impose reasonable limits on their reach.
Instead, decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin offer a hedge against the financial dystopia of centralized CBDCs. They provide important architectural checks against centralization and state coercion.
Censorship-resistant crypto frees individuals to transact and express opinions without establishment interference or deplatforming. If adopted en masse, crypto can structurally counterbalance the totalitarian instincts of CBDCs.
By choosing monetary sovereignty, we escape technocratic rule. Financial autonomy lets societies flourish through voluntary cooperation, not institutional compulsion. Crypto can peacefully subvert authorities bent on controlling money — if we simply embrace its promise.
