The Tennesse General Assembly passed a bill prohibiting banks from de-banking and closing consumer accounts based on “social credit score” systems.
SB 2148 “prohibits financial institutions and insurers from denying or canceling services to a person, or otherwise discriminating against a person, based upon the use of a social credit score or other factors,” according to the bill’s summary.
The bill’s companion in the Tennessee House also passed.
The Senate bill was overwhelmingly supported by Tennessee’s Senate Republicans, who all voted in favor of it. The lone “no” vote was from the state’s only Democrat senator.
In past years, several right-wing figures have seen their bank accounts mysteriously closed without explanation from high-profile institutions like Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and PayPal.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which helped Tennessee legislators draft the bill awaiting the signature of Gov. Bill Lee (R), provided a list of such cases.
Those cases include Moms for Liberty’s ban from PayPal, BREXIT leader Nigel Farage’s ban from Coutts, a British ban, and the bank account of Timothy Two Project International, a Christian ministry that Bank of America banned because the organization was “operating a business type we have chosen not to service.”
“The bill prohibits the country’s largest banks from engaging in politicized de-banking—denying financial services based on a customer’s religious or political views. The issue is on the rise at America’s largest financial institutions and threatens Americans’ freedom of speech and religion,” the ADF said in a release.
The ADF has been involved in a legal case over Bank of America’s de-banking of Indigenous Advance Ministries, a Christian nonprofit that serves children in Africa.
“No one should be denied access to basic financial services because of their political or religious beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Matt Sharp, director of the ADF Center for Public Policy. “Banks that are too big to fail are too big for bias. It’s the government’s duty to protect the fundamental freedoms of its citizens. That’s why Tennessee is doing the right thing here and charting the course for other states to follow.”
Sharp thanked members of the General Assembly and activist groups who worked to get the legislation to Lee’s desk.
“ADF is thankful to the Pro-Family Legislative Network, Foundation for Government Accountability, and the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition for their invaluable expertise and support on this legislation,” he said. “Additionally, we want to commend Sen. Majority Leader Jack Johnson and Rep. Jason Zachary for their leadership in passing this important bill.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “Bank Teller” by Myfuture.com. CC BY-ND 2.0.
