Coinbase urged to publish greater transparency in its operations

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a San Francisco-based nonprofit digital rights group, призвала Coinbase to publish transparency reports on its operations. The company should state how many government information requests it receives and how it handles them.

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EFF spokesperson Hailey Tsukiyama noted that crypto exchanges must understand the importance of protecting customer data privacy.

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“By providing the public with information about how often law enforcement requests user data and how often exchanges comply with these requests, one can determine whether companies keep their commitments to protecting customer privacy,” Tsukiyama said.

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In her view, transparency reports play a vital role, furnishing detailed information about government surveillance activity.

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Tsukiyama did not explicitly mention Coinbase Analytics—the exchange’s on-chain analytics software that it sells to law enforcement. It is likely that in her remarks the activist was alluding to the tool.

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It was previously disclosed that Coinbase sells the software to several government agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Secret Service. At the time, the company said that information in Coinbase Analytics “has always been fully segregated from Coinbase’s internal data” and “does not include personal information”.

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The EFF spokesperson also noted that Kraken, a competing exchange, already publishes information on the global law-enforcement requests it receives, and Coinbase should follow suit.

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Coinbase prepares to launch a platform for conducting initial exchange offerings (IEOs).

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