Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could soon place Google under formal federal supervision.
- The move would empower the agency to monitor Google’s financial practices with users.
- Google has reportedly “fiercely resisted” the idea of such monitoring efforts.
What companies do you turn to for financial services? Obviously, banks and credit card companies make that list, as well stuff like insurance and investments. But do you even consider Google among that group? There’s a good case to be made for why you should, and now Google’s practices when it comes to financial services have reportedly caught the eye of government watchdogs.
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is tasked with keeping financial institutions accountable to consumers, and stepping in to regulate where it sees the need. According to The Washington Post, the CFPB is working to place Google under its federal supervision.
With services like Google Wallet, and all the transactions processed through the Play Store, Google touches a lot of money that ultimately isn’t its own, and apparently the CFPB has received hundreds of complaints over the years from consumers experiencing some kind of problem with billing through Google. CFPB leadership has been looking harder at tech companies in recent years, as well, and this interest in Google is far from unexpected. What is unusual, though, is seeing things proceed this far, and actually putting the company under supervision would be a very unusual outcome for a primarily tech company like this.
Google, understandably, is not supposed to be thrilled about any of this, and has reportedly been pushing back as hard as it can against the CFPB’s inquiry. If things move forward, the CFPB could quite possibly find itself with unprecedent access to internal company records.
While there’s the potential for this CFPB interest to prove quite impactful for Google, right now none of this is set in stone — and the fact that the US is on the cusp of a new federal administration is only fueling that uncertainty. Shifting priorities could see the CFPB empowered to put Google’s activities under the magnifying glass as easily as they could end up with the company getting a pass. Lots of other companies are certain to be paying close attention to what happens next, because once the CFPB gets started with Google, it could easily begin working its way across the rest of the tech landscape. Even if that’s ultimately a win for consumers, it could be a bumpy ride getting there.
