As concerns over Facebook’s Libra are mounting, the social media company’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, will appear before the House in the United States for testimony.
Announced by the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) on Wednesday, the hearing is titled “An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors,” meaning the only focus will be on the company’s proposed cryptocurrency project.
Zuckerberg will be the sole witness for the testimony scheduled for October 23.
Though the CEO’s name has been finalized for the hearing, Bloomberg earlier reported that Facebook was trying to put its COO Sheryl Sandberg on the stands to ease the lawmakers’ concerns over the digital currency.
A tough project to get approval
Facebook announced its crypto project in June and is hoping to launch it in mid-2020. The project, however, is facing regulatory backlash all over the globe due to concerns over its user privacy and threat to mainstream financial stability.
David Marcus, the head of Facebook’s crypto project, earlier appeared before both the House and the Senate committee to clarify doubts over the privacy concerns of the project. He, however, failed to provide details on serious concerns when grilled by lawmakers.
The chairwoman of the HFSC Maxine Waters (Democrat-CA) also requested the social media company multiple times to halt the development process of its cryptocurrency project until the regulatory roadblocks are cleared.
The US lawmakers are also considering introducing a bill to keep the technology giants away from the financial industry due to their monopoly over user data.
Meanwhile, Facebook is trying to push for favorable regulations on blockchain technology, which might help its crypto initiative. The company hired an army of lobbyists to influence lawmakers in Washington, DC. It even appointed the former aides of US senators and is spending millions on getting an edge on its motives.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
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