Is the looming dawn of CBDCs leading us blindly into a surveillance state?

Written as a City A.M. column in July 2023, the piece argues that surveillance and emergency powers were expanding in the UK, drawing parallels with George Orwell’s 1984. It cites the Online Safety Bill and the Public Order Act, which received royal assent in May 2023 and which the column says curtailed the right to protest. It also raises concerns that the proposed WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty could undermine national sovereignty, and points to banks closing accounts over non-mainstream political views.

The column sees central bank digital currencies as a serious threat to privacy and civil liberties, because they would make money digital and programmable, allowing unprecedented control and monitoring. Bitcoin is presented as a peaceful way to opt out of CBDCs and prevent the government from closing the surveillance loop, as well as an alternative to what the column calls broken fiat money.