Texas Blockchain Council Take On US Government Over Bitcoin Mining Data
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The Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and Riot Platforms, a publicly listed mining firm, have initiated legal actions against the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and other federal bodies. This approach aims to obstruct these entities from unlawful data collection in the Bitcoin mining industry.
Legal Dispute Arises Over Doe’s Bitcoin Mining Data Collection Attempt
The legal dispute highlights the fast-growing tension in regulatory oversight, particularly regarding energy consumption worries and bitcoin mining operations.
TBC and Riot Platforms urge that the Department of Energy (DOE) try to collect detailed data on energy usage from Bitcoin miners. Claiming that due to the guise of an emergency action, it violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
The court filing underscores the DOE’s rushed request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for urgent development in the survey was unsupported and lacks the necessary procedural precautions.
The lawsuits highlighted that the case showcases sloppy government procedure, invasive government data collection, and contrived and self-inflicted urgency.
At the core of TBC’s and Riot’s argument is the claim that the survey enforces an undue burden on respondents, requiring them to divulge proprietary, confidential, and sensitive data without authorized authority. With this, they infringed on their rights and established a precarious precedent for governmental outwit into private sector activities. This could harm the competitive standing of the United State bitcoin mining activities worldwide.
The Filling Seeks A Temporary Preliminary Injunction And Restraining Order
The filing highlighted the credible and imminent threat imposed by the government on TBC’s members if they do not respond to a survey. Moreover, Riot reported that it gained an expansion of over 40 employees in hours, with an attempt to respond to the first survey. However, this report is significantly eight times higher than the estimated burden of 0.5 hours to complete the survey.
Furthermore, the lawsuit highlighted the plaintiffs’ confidence that the DOE’s approach was not moved by a genuine concern for energy stability or public harm. However, it was motivated by political burdens seeking to curb the growth of the crypto-mining industry.
During the court filing, the firm pointed out previous legislative and public scrutiny over the environmental influence on crypto mining as a background to the DOE’s aggressive and sudden information collection efforts.
The filling pursues a temporary preliminary injunction and a restraining order. It also prohibits the defendants, the Energy Information Administration and Department of Energy from gathering EIA-862 data from recognized commercial crypto miners.
