BOE Pushes Back Against Digital Pound Surveillance Conspiracies

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey sought to dispel fears that a digital version of the pound will turn into a surveillance tool for UK authorities after its proposals were attacked by conspiracy theorists online and on motorway bridges.

(Bloomberg) — Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey sought to dispel fears that a digital version of the pound will turn into a surveillance tool for UK authorities after its proposals were attacked by conspiracy theorists online and on motorway bridges.

Bailey said in a text of his speech at the Mansion House in London this evening that digital money must be “controlled and programmable by owners and users, not by prying authorities,” insisting the BOE’s work on a so-called central bank digital currency won’t invade the privacy of Britons.

He specifically highlighted anti-CBDC graffiti on motorway bridges as its project attracts attention from people suspicious that officials will use the project as a surveillance tool.

Britain and other countries are studying whether to adopt a form of government-backed money that would remain relevant as more transactions move online. Banknotes and coins are used for fewer purchases as internet retailers and card-based payment systems spread. A CBDC would ensure that the government maintains a role in the money circulating even as private companies handle more day-to-day transactions.

CBDCs have become a lightning rod for people who are worried about how technology is creeping into practically every corner of life.

There’s considerable overlap with critics of other IT projects, such as camera-based traffic congestion charging or even ideas around so-called 15-minute cities — a method of designing urban areas to reduce traffic and encourage walking and cycling. Some conspiracy theorists view those efforts as a way for future governments to confine people to areas around their home.

In the UK, graffiti reading “Say No to CBDCs” is becoming increasingly common on motorway bridges and other infrastructure. It’s an indication that a niche policy idea from the Bank of England has become an unlikely rallying cry in a protest movement against all forms of government control.

In that sense, it fits a trend since Britain’s exit from the European Union — especially on the right-wing of UK politics — of standing up against establishment elites, in this case the central bank.

Bailey said that responses to a recent consultation on the digital pound “suggest concern about a desire by the authorities to reach into people’s privacy, which is absolutely at odds with what we should do, and indeed would.”

“Incidentally, whoever painted “no to CBDC” on a motorway bridge, I can only apologize to the Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre,” he said.

Worries about CBDC have sprouted on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK, they include people who also were against mandated vaccine programs during the Covid-19 crisis. On platforms like Twitter and Telegram, there’s an increasing flow of posts that allege — without support — that “Westminster elites” will use CBDCs to stop people from buying meat or buying petrol.

In the US, the concerns are more widespread. Multiple candidates seeking the Republican nomination for the presidential campaign have spoken out against CBDCs, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s comments on the US Federal Reserve’s work gaining more attention from conspiracy theorists the world over.

The Bank of England and UK Treasury will consider the responses to its consultation on so-called “Britcoin,” which ended in June. Officials believe a digital pound probably will be needed but will only decide whether to move from designing to building it in two to three years’ time.

“We must avoid a failure of imagination,” said Bailey. “Inability to specify a very precise detailed use case today is not a good reason to believe there will never be one. There are stories of scepticism around the benefits to be expected from the iPhone, and going further back, railways.”

However, Bailey said that “cash is here to stay” as he insisted that the digital currency plans will not affect its commitment to banknotes and coins.