Central banks across Europe are moving toward a digital euro, and critics warn it could let officials control what people are allowed to buy — bad news for anyone worried about financial privacy.

• The European Central Bank is aiming for a pilot next year and a possible launch around 2029.
• Similar pilots have been running in Australia and elsewhere since the pandemic, nearly all targeting a launch before 2030.
• Officials promise the money will not be programmed to block purchases or cap transactions, but Europe is already trying to stop people from moving money out of the region.
• Catherine Austin Fitts calls it a "lock" system — the ability to freeze accounts instantly, as Canada did to protesting truckers.
• The deeper fear is AI watching purchases in real time and blocking things like meat, dairy, or ammunition.

Outlook: Expect more pilots and louder pushback over privacy before any retail digital euro reaches ordinary people late this decade.