The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Thursday that several tech giants, including Amazon, Facebook, and Google to turn over information on payments-related systems and products.
CFPB ordered six technology platforms to turn over information. These six platforms are Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Square, and Paypal. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra stated that the bureau would also study Chinese tech giants such as WeChatPay and Alipay.
Chopra stated that little was publicly known “about how Big Tech companies will exploit their payments platforms.” He wrote: “The CFPB’s inquiry will help to inform regulators and policymakers about the future of our payments system. Importantly, it will also yield insights that may help the CFPB to implement other statutory responsibilities, including any potential rulemaking under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.”
CFPB issued these orders pursuant to Section 1022(c)(4) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, which authorizes CFPB to order entities in the payments market to provide information to the bureau to monitor consumer risks and public findings of public interest.
Chopra stated that CFPB intends to invite public comment through the Federal Register, inviting any interested party to submit comments.