The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is investigating possible abuse of Apple functionality
A Apple, through its Apple Pay Later service, is being investigated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), one of the top finance regulators in the United States. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said Apple Pay Later raised “a number of issues”, including antitrust and data privacy concerns.
“The main finance regulator Consumer and Consumer Affairs warned that Big Tech’s entry into the buy now, pay later business risks weakening competition in the industry and raises questions about its use of customer data,” Chopra said in an interview.
Chopra also said that Big Tech’s entry into the lending business raises questions about how companies use customer data, including browsing history, geolocation history, and health information.
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However, the prospect of (potentially) being accused of data privacy violations is ironic. Just six weeks ago, CNBC reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook was pushing for privacy legislation “as soon as possible” after a visit to Congress. As CNBC wrote:
“Apple has long positioned itself as the most privacy-focused company among its tech peers, and Cook regularly broaches the subject in speeches and meetings. Apple says its commitment to privacy is a value deeply held by its employees, and often invokes the phrase ‘privacy is a fundamental human right’.”
Some of the CFPB’s concerns are wrong. The point that Apple has a lot of consumer payment data from its current payment services, for example, ignores the fact that the CFPB does not take seriously the issue of bringing antitrust and privacy charges against Apple.
