CNN was in pretty typical form Monday – absorbed with Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and still quite comfortable making up and promoting unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about him on the spot. On Inside Politics, Dana Bash interviewed former CFPB director Rohit Chopra, ostensibly on Musk’s plan to cut the agency, and Chopra conjectured wildly about Musk abusing his position for his own illicit profit, to which Bash happily played along.
Bash neglected to mention that Chopra had, in addition to his former post at the Consumer Financial Protection Board, held a long series of positions in the Democratic Party, and was far from a neutral source.
“What is happening, as Musk and his team… have access to pretty much everything in the federal government- sensitive data about… American citizens?” she asked him.
Chopra responded by suggesting that tech billionaires like Musk wanted to exercise China-like levels of control on the American people:
[B]ig tech companies in the U.S. have…been drooling at what they see in China, where… tech companies can conduct surveillance on all Chinese citizens and what they’re buying every day. So they’re all trying to train their algorithms…And this… could lay the groundwork for the end of the price tag, where we are purchasing goods based… on our web browsing history, rather than a transparent price, cause that is the way these tech companies can make a huge amount of money.
He provided zero evidence for his insinuation that Musk was using his authority to spy on people, but Bash eagerly took the hint, and egged him on, “how can his access to virtually all of our data…advance his… private company?”
Chopra went on with his little theory, suggesting Musk was taking pieces off the board:
[W]hy are they so fixated with… a small agency like the CFPB?… [T]he CFPB is responsible for monitoring all of those tech companies… And if they can… look… at their competitors, that could be a big edge for them…[W]hen we buy… something online, it should… be a fair price… But more and more Americans are noticing that the price may be different, based on who is looking at it and when. And that really raises some real issues about… intrusive pricing(…)
Bash commented, as though it were relevant, that she had had such experiences buying plane tickets, but seemed to not take into account other reasons for the prices to increase; e.g. prices for tickets go up the closer to the departure date, demand from other passengers over time, travel trends. Despite those possibilities, she encouraged Chopra to go on.
Chopra vaguely stated of Musk’s DOGE capacity that “it’s all about volume,” as though it somehow followed that more official power would somehow lead him to come out of the woodwork as some sort of criminal mastermind in some unprecedented way. It was a conjecture which Bash seemed quite satisfied with.
He concluded with a groundless outright accusation that Musk was purging the government of those who might interfere with his schemes:
What’s really suspicious, is that some of the first people they fired were the technologists, those who specialize in overseeing these tech companies… isn’t it something that they were the first to be on the chopping block?
Of course, the words of this career left-wing activist presented as a neutral public servant were serious criminal allegations against Musk, completely ungrounded in evidence, but true to character, CNN didn’t let a little thing like that get in the way of “news” about their number one obsession.
To view the full transcript, click “expand” to read:
CNN’s Inside Politics03/10/202512:41 PM
(…)
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: MUSK PRAISES DISMANTLING OF AGENCY THAT REGULATES X]
DANA BASH: So now, what is happening, as Musk and his team- they have access to pretty much everything in the federal government- sensitive data about, and by, and from American citizens? So, explain in layman’s terms why this is such a big deal.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: X ANNOUNCES PLAN FOR IN0APP PAYMENTS AS DOGE LOOKS TO CLOSE AGENCY REGULATING CASH APPS]
FORMER CFPB DIRECTOR ROHIT CHOPRA: Well, you know, big tech companies in the U.S. have really been drooling at what they see in China, where Chinese tech companies can conduct surveillance on all Chinese citizens and what they’re buying every day.
So they’re all trying to train their algorithms- artificial intelligence. And that’s why you see Google Pay, Apple Pay, and- and now X Money wants to be able to know everything you’re buying, how much you’re paying for it, and what were you [sic.] thinking about at the time.
And this really could lay the groundwork for the end of the price tag, where we are purchasing goods based on our behavior and our web browsing history, rather than a transparent price, cause that is the way these tech companies can make a huge amount of money.
BASH: And how can his access to virtually all of our data help advance his goal to do that, in his private company?
CHOPRA: Well, people have been wondering, why are they so fixated with this C- a small agency like the CFPB?
It’s because the CFPB is responsible for monitoring all of those tech companies for how they’re moving our money, to protect against privacy errors and fraud. And if they can creep in there, and look even at their competitors, that could be a big edge for them.
You know, I really worry that when we buy an airplane ticket, or something online, it should really be a fair price- that you and I see the same thing. But more and more Americans are noticing that the price may be different, based on who is looking at it and when.
And that really raises some real issues about how- intrusive pricing in our life.
BASH: Yeah, I mean, I’ve noticed that. Even when I’ve gone back to look for a ticket, the price goes up, because they know I really want it.
But, let’s stay focused on Elon Musk for a second, because, just to go back to the concern that you’ve expressed about DOGE snooping on loan or mortgage data- why is that something that he can really benefit from, again, in his company, and in his ultimate goal?
Which, if you know anything about his, sort of, business evolution, from the very beginning, he has been really interested in having a platform that is everything, and that, when he bought X, he wanted it to transform into a financial payment process, just like- sort of- an advanced version of what PayPal was.
CHOPRA: Yeah. I mean, five years ago we saw the same thing from Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, where they tried to create a new global currency, and they were pretty open about it, that if they could have their own currency, they could track people spending across their digital life. And they would be able to charge companies that are using that currency big money.
And this is, I think, part of a broader effort to create currencies that are outside of oversight when it comes to fraud, privacy, and more. In fact, the Senate right now is thinking about letting those tech companies create their own currencies.
And that raises just, real questions about power, oversight, and- could it actually lead to a risk to our financial system?
BASH: So, there’s the creating your own currency, which- he’s not the only one who’s wanted to do this- I mean, we’ve see [sic.] this at- other big tech companies and also other big financial companies as well.
But the argument that he has made about the access that he has now to all of our data, is that he didn’t- he had the same access when he was at PayPal and he didn’t do anything to- you know- to disrupt or to use it in an untoward way.
But can you just explain whether or not it is- never mind the latter part of what I just said- but explain why having access to data via PayPal and having access to data via the federal government are two different things?
CHOPRA: Well, I mean, it’s all about volume, and all about the types of transactions that you can ingest information about.
Look, a lot of these companies are taking in huge amounts of data to train artificial intelligence. And those models might be used to determine what prices we pay on things. It might also be used for a whole host of other commercial purposes.
Part of the reason why we separate off our financial privacy and our health privacy, is because when it falls into the wrong hands- that data- there is a big mismatch and abuse of power.
And it is why we should not let these big tech companies control our nation’s currency.
BASH: And right now there is no one at your now-former agency- which you were head of- who’s doing the basic job of trying to protect consumers, that they were- enacted- or- sort of- the legislation passed, and the president signed it into law in order to- to do.
CHOPRA: What’s really suspicious, is that some of the first people they fired were the technologists, those who specialize in overseeing these tech companies. I think they were illegally fired, but isn’t it something that they were the first to be on the chopping block?
BASH: Thank you so much for coming in. I hope you come back. Appreciate it.
