US: Facebook’s Zuckerberg to testify before US House panel on Libra

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the US House Financial Services Committee on October 23 as the social media company faces growing scrutiny from US lawmakers over a planned cryptocurrency and other issues including advertising policies, reported The Wall Street Journal. 

Zuckerberg will testify at a hearing titled “An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors.” It will be his first appearance before a US congressional committee since April 2018, although last month he was on Capitol Hill to meet privately with some lawmakers.

In June, Facebook revealed plans to launch a new cryptocurrency, known as Libra, and digital wallet, called Calibra,that could be used to pay for goods online and send money world-wide.

Since the project was announced, it has received a steady stream of criticism from lawmakers in the US and other countries based on Facebook’s prior missteps in data privacy and skepticism that the company could prevent libra from being used to launder money. House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Rep. Maxine Waters (Democrat – California), and other Democrats have called on Facebook to abandon plans to implement libra.

Mr. Zuckerberg has said Facebook wouldn’t move forward with the project in the US until it had satisfied regulatory concerns. The company has touted the project as having the potential to help provide basic financial services to people who lack bank accounts.

Full Content: Wall Street Journal

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