- A United States District judge has granted a favorable verdict in the case against multiple U.S. energy regulators, siding with the Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms.
- The court has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent the Energy Information Administration (EIA) from compelling cryptocurrency miners to respond to a survey or share any received data, following allegations of intrusive data gathering.
In a case against multiple U.S. energy regulators, the Texas Blockchain Council (TBC) and Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms have received a favorable verdict from a United States District judge.
U.S. Energy Agencies accused of pursuing intrusive data gathering
The U.S. Department of Energy, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and their respective leaderships allegedly wanted intrusive data gathering from cryptocurrency miners.
The TBC and Riot persuaded the judge that irrevocable harm would occur in the absence of a temporary restraining order (TRO) prohibiting future data gathering, according to a February 23 filing.
As a result, a TRO was issued by the court, preventing the EIA from compelling crypto miners to respond to the survey or from sharing any received data.
Also read: Europe’s Digital Services Act applies in full from February 18
Court criticises Energy Agency’s approval
The court concluded that TBC and Riot were likely to win in the lawsuit. It also claimed that the EIA had abused its jurisdiction in approving the emergency survey, a decision that the court felt “falls far short of justifying such an action.”
According to the filing, “Plaintiffs also demonstrate that they are likely to succeed on the merits. The survey was proposed and approved under an emergency provision of the PRA.”
