Facebook receives a joint open letter from members of Congress calling for a halt to Libra development
according toaccording toThe Block reports
On Tuesday, five members, including Waters, presented Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg witha letter, the letter called for a moratorium on the development of the virtual currency Libra; meanwhile, the Financial Services Committee and its subsidiary subcommittees hold hearings to determine how it will operate and what safeguards will be in place to protect user privacy.
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open letter
Joining Waters are 4 other members of Congress: Investor Protection & Entrepreneurship and Capital Markets Subcommittee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Housing & Community Development and Insurance Subcommittee Chair William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Oversight and Al Green (D-TX), chair of the investigative subcommittee, and Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), chair of the Financial Technology Task Force.
Maxine Waters can be described as a well-known "black fan" of Libra. Shortly after the release of the Libra white paper, she said: "It is very important for Facebook to stop what they are doing immediately so that we can understand what they are trying to do. We must protect Consumers, we also cannot allow Facebook to go to Switzerland with their employees and start competing with the dollar." But despite this, this is the first time she has called for a moratorium in an open letter.
The letter stated that Libra is likely to establish a new global financial system that competes with the US dollar, which brings serious privacy not only to Facebook's more than 2 billion users, but also to investors, consumers and the wider global economy. , trade, national security and monetary policy issues.
In the questions that unfolded next, the letter states:
1. In Libra's white paper, there is little information about intent, role, potential use, and security, and lack of regulatory protection exposes large-scale risks;
2. Investors and consumers who conduct transactions through Libra may face serious privacy and national security issues, network security risks and transaction risks, and Facebook digital wallets will become the target of hackers.
3. Libra may also provide a platform for illegal activities and money laundering.
This includes the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the political consulting firm obtained data on 50 million Facebook users to influence elections. Facebook is already preparing to pay a $5 billion fine to the Federal Trade Commission for its involvement with Cambridge Analytica.
Additionally, the company has been sued by civil rights groups and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for violating fair housing laws on its ad platform and through its ad-serving algorithms.
Additionally, the company has been sued by civil rights groups and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for violating fair housing laws on its ad platform and through its ad-serving algorithms.
For these reasons, lawmakers in Congress have called for a moratorium. They intend to hold public hearings to find legislative solutions to the risks they believe Libra poses.
"Failure to halt implementation risks creating a new Swiss-based financial system that will become too inflated to overthrow," the letter warned.
Also affected are early partners in the Libra project.
Bloomberg reportsBloomberg reports
