Key Takeaways
- The EIA and OMB ceased their survey on crypto miners after a lawsuit over unlawful data collection.
- The actual time required for survey compliance significantly exceeded the EIA's 30-minute estimate.
- A settlement mandates the destruction of collected data and introduces a feedback process for future surveys, prioritizing transparency and community concerns.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA), part of the US Department of Energy, alongside the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has agreed to cease its emergency survey of crypto miners, initially intended to span three years.
This agreement was reached after the Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and Riot Platforms, a Bitcoin mining company, sued the department, highlighting concerns over unlawful data collection.
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TBC and Riot argued that US Energy demanded information without giving respondents sufficient notice, possibly causing irreparable harm by enforcing compliance costs.
The court had found the EIA's estimate that the survey would take only 30 minutes to complete to be "extremely inaccurate," with the actual cost of compliance reportedly exceeding 40 hours.
According to the March 1 legal filing, the parties involved have decided not only to stop future data collection but also to destroy any data already collected from the crypto miners. It reads:
Defendants agree that EIA will destroy any information that it has already received in response to the EIA-862 Emergency Survey.
Despite the cessation of the current survey, there is an avenue for the EIA to request public feedback on future information collection efforts. The agreement allows publishing a new notice and inviting comments over a 60-day period.
This provision aims to ensure that any future data collection endeavors are conducted transparently and with consideration for the concerns of the cryptocurrency mining community.
This case underscores the importance of dialogue and compromise in addressing complex issues at the intersection of technology, privacy, and regulation.
In other news, Christopher Harborne, owner of AML Global Ltd., is suing The Wall Street Journal for defamation over claims made in an article about crypto firms Tether and Bitfinex engaging in unethical banking practices.
