The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines has requested that tech giants Apple and Google remove Binance apps from their respective app stores. The SEC chairman stated that the blockade on Binance, coupled with the removal of its app, curbs the further spread of its unlawful activities in the country.
Binance Apps Pose Threat to Security of Filipinos’ Investment Funds
The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested that tech giants Google and Apple remove the Binance app from their respective marketplaces accessible by Filipinos. In letters to the two companies, SEC Chairman Emilio B. Aquino argued that continued access to Binance’s websites or apps “poses a threat to the security of the funds of investing Filipinos.”
In a statement issued on April 23, the SEC disclosed that its chairperson had emphasized to both Google and Apple the extent of Binance’s alleged violations of Republic Act No. 8799, or The Securities Regulation Code. The SEC’s letters to the two tech giants mark the latest escalation in the Commission’s battle against the crypto exchange, which began in November 2023.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the SEC initiated its fight against Binance after accusing the crypto exchange of operating in the country without the necessary license. At that time, the SEC threatened jail sentences for individuals found to be enabling Binance’s activities in the Asian country.
SEC Advises Investors to Terminate Their Binance Accounts
In late March of this year, the Commission followed up its warning by blocking Binance’s online presence in the country. It also warned Filipinos against using the crypto exchange.
Defending both the decision to block Binance and the request to remove the apps from Google and Apple’s online marketplaces, Aquino said:
[Doing this will] prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country, and protect the investing public from its detrimental effects on our economy.
Meanwhile, in addition to advising Filipinos to avoid Binance, the SEC also instructed investors to close their positions and transfer their cryptocurrency holdings to self-custody wallets or accounts with registered cryptocurrency service providers.
Should Google and Apple agree to remove the Binance apps from their respective app stores, as demanded by the Philippines’ SEC? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Source: Bitcoin
