Consumer agency to probe Big Tech’s payment systems

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday issued a series of orders seeking information about the online payment systems of some of the country’s biggest tech companies.

The agency sent initial orders to Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, PayPal and Square and has plans to study the payment systems of Chinese companies Alipay and WeChat Pay as well.

“Big Tech companies are eagerly expanding their empires to gain greater control and insight into our spending habits,” newly appointed CFPB director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “We have ordered them to produce information about their business plans and practices.”

The agency is specifically asking for information about data harvesting for targeted advertising, user restrictions and fraud protections.

All of the named companies either have active consumer-facing financial services or plans to move into that space.

The orders are the latest move by the Biden administration to crack down on big technology companies.

Chopra was previously a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, where he frequently objected to what he called insufficient enforcement to rein in Silicon Valley giants.