Editors Note: This article comes fromCarbon chain value (ID: cc-value), published with permission.
Editors Note: This article comes from
Carbon chain value (ID: cc-value)
Focus on:
, published with permission.
According to foreign media reports, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Wednesday local time in the United States. In prepared testimony, he said that the Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Libra will improve the financial situation in the United States. leadership, and our democratic values and oversight around the world.
Editors note: This article first published Tencent Technology
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Zuckerberg said in his testimony that the idea behind Libra is that sending money should be as easy and secure as sending a text message. Libra will be a global payment system fully backed by cash and other highly liquid assets.
Libra, the Facebook-backed cryptocurrency, will advance U.S. financial leadership, as well as U.S. democratic values and oversight around the world. However, Facebook will not launch the Libra payment system anywhere in the world until it is approved by US regulators.
Facebook is not trying to help create entirely new sovereign currencies. Libra, like existing online payment systems, is a way for people to transact.
Facebook opposes discrimination of any kind and values diversity because it leads to better decisions, better products and a better culture.
The full text of Zuckerbergs testimony follows:
Chair Maxine Waters, Vice Chair Patrick McHenry, and fellow commissioners, thank you for attending todays hearing:
Over a billion people in the world today do not have access to a bank account, but if the right systems exist, they can access these banking services through their mobile phones. These include 14 million Americans, and being locked out of the financial system has a huge impact on peoples lives, and it is often the most vulnerable who pay the highest price.
People are paying too much and having to wait a long time - to get their money home. The current system has let them down. The financial industry is stagnant without a digital financial architecture to support the innovation we need. But I believe this problem can be solved, and Libra can help. The idea behind Libra is that sending money should be as easy and secure as sending a text message. Libra will be a global payment system fully backed by cash and other highly liquid assets.
I believe thats what needs to be built, but I know were not ideal messengers right now. Weve had a lot of problems over the last few years, and Im sure people wish that anyone but Facebook could come up with this idea. But we care about this for a reason, and Facebook is about putting power in peoples hands. Our services empower people to express whats important to them and build businesses that create opportunity.
Giving people control over their money is also important, and an easy, secure, and stable way to move money is an act of empowerment. In the long run, its good for our business if it means more people use our platform. But even that doesnt help people around the world.
Before we move forward, there are some important risks that need to be addressed. These issues are related to financial stability, fighting terrorism and so on. Im here today to discuss those risks and how we plan to address them.
But I also hope we can talk about the risk of a lack of innovation. While we discuss these issues, the rest of the world is not sitting around waiting. Libra will be primarily backed by the U.S. dollar, which I believe will amplify U.S. financial leadership, as well as our democratic values and oversight around the world. If America does not innovate, our financial leadership is not guaranteed.
We co-authored a white paper to bring this idea to the world and opened up dialogue with regulators, experts and governments. Todays hearing is an important part of that process. The issues we discuss today are incredibly important to any company. Thats why we helped found the Libra Association, a coalition of 21 companies and nonprofits working to make financial tools accessible to everyone.
The last time I testified before Congress, I talked about a broader view of our approach to responsibility. This includes ensuring our services are used to do good and prevent harm. People should not be discriminated against on any of our services. We have policies in place to prevent hate speech and remove harmful content. But discrimination can also show up in how ads are positioned and played. As part of a settlement with civil rights groups, we already prohibit advertisers from using age, gender, or ZIP code to target housing, employment, or credit opportunities, and weve limited interest-based targeting for those ads. This is part of our commitment to support civil rights and prevent discrimination.
I also know that our company needs more different perspectives. Diversity leads to better decision-making and better service to our communities. We will make diversity a priority in our hiring, and we have committed: Within five years, we want at least 50 percent of our workforce to be women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups.
Weve made some progress with more people of color, women in tech and business roles, and underrepresented groups in Facebook leadership. But I know we still have a long way to go.
Its been a challenging few years for Facebook. I recognize that we play unique and important roles in our society. I feel blessed to be in this position where we can make a difference in peoples lives, and as long as we are here, I am committed to using our position to advance great ideas that we believe can empower people more.
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Libra project
The Libra project aims to promote financial inclusion by sending and receiving payments globally in a secure, cost-effective and efficient manner. Research shows that access to financial services can help lift people out of poverty, and this is especially important for women in developing countries. We believe this is a solvable problem, and we want to be a part of it.
Libra is one potential approach, and were proud to have helped build a coalition of 21 companies and nonprofits that have now pledged to help advance this goal. Building this broad-based coalition is a positive step, and I welcome the conversation Libra has ignited the spark. But by design, we dont expect to lead these efforts forward. The Libra Association is established, has and has a governance structure in place that will move the project forward.
At Facebook, were also exploring other ways to bring financial services to more people. For example, reducing remittance costs through our existing platform. We recognize that other organizations are also working to address this challenge, and we support that as well. We will continue to discuss our efforts with regulators. We understand that whatever approach is taken to promote financial inclusion must address regulatory concerns, including money laundering and terrorist financing, sanctions, and potential currency disruption and systemic risks.
I know the Libra Association will be mindful of these things as we go forward, and we at Facebook are paying attention to these issues as we explore what we can do as a company to address financial inclusion.
We also understand the importance of being transparent about our efforts. I recognize that some people have expressed concern about the Libra project and Facebooks role in it. I want to briefly touch on how were trying to address the issues weve heard.
First, we heard concerns that we were moving too quickly. As weve said from the beginning, were committed to taking the time to do this well. We co-authored the white paper and started a dialogue with experts, regulators and policy makers who oversee the stability and safety of the financial system. However, this white paper was never intended to be the final terms of the project, it was just a signal of the direction we wanted to move forward and a conversation about how to get there. This dialogue is ongoing, and we will continue to advocate for responsible innovation in the process.
Second, some have indicated that we intend to bypass regulators and regulations. We want to be clear: Facebook will not be involved in the launch of the Libra payment system anywhere unless all US regulators approve it. We support delaying Libras launch until it fully addresses U.S. regulatory concerns.
We have met with regulators in 30 different jurisdictions. The Libra Association has been focused on talking to regulators and other stakeholders, but founding members of the association, including Facebooks Libra-related subsidiary Calibra, are also in talks with elected officials, including many members of Congress. This is how democratic oversight and censorship works.
When it comes to Calibra, I know some people are wondering if we can be trusted to build payment services that protect consumers. We recognize that we have a responsibility to provide people with all the protections they have come to expect when sending and receiving payments online. We already do this across our range of services. For example, people buy products through Instagram Shopping every day, which helps businesses of all sizes show customers what they might be interested in. People buy from each other on Facebook Marketplace and send money to friends and family through Messenger.
Facebook is committed to strong protections for the financial information we receive from consumers, and I would like to clarify what we do with it:
We do not sell peoples data;
We dont use peoples data to make decisions about borrowing or lending, or to create credit reports;
We do not share information for lending or credit decisions with third parties;
We use information about product transactions to improve our services, including advertising. However, we do not use peoples payment account information itself for advertising purposes.
All payments made through Facebooks authorized payments subsidiary will be subject to comprehensive anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing and sanctions monitoring. We will use our automated systems and human review to report suspicious payment activity to relevant authorities with regulatory obligations. We also have strategies in place to prevent fraud.
We are committed to developing a similar compliance system and robust consumer protection, customer support, and password recovery capabilities for the Calibra app. Automated tools will proactively monitor activity and spot fraud, and Calibra also plans to bounce back any unauthorized transactions.
I also realize that people using Calibra also have concerns that we will have access to their financial data. We made Calibra a regulated subsidiary with a clear separation of Facebook social data and Calibra financial data. Calibra does not share user account information or financial data with Facebook except to prevent fraudulent or criminal activity, or when users expressly choose to share data, or when we are legally obligated to do so.
The final question is whether Libra intends to replace sovereign currencies and whether it is appropriate for private industry to participate in such innovations. I want to be clear: this is not an attempt to create a sovereign currency. Like existing online payment systems, it is a way for people to transact.
We also believe Libra presents an opportunity to strengthen the fight against financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing. Much illegal activity is financed by cash. Such a digital payment system is much more secure when there is effective upstream and downstream regulation and proper understanding of customer behaviour, and online activity can be analyzed by law enforcement and regulators.
I hope we can find a way forward in this area, because we believe that responsible innovation like Libra will allow more people to gain access to the financial tools we have at our fingertips. Digital payment systems will become very important in the future. If America doesnt lead, other countries will. Foreign companies or countries can act without the same regulatory oversight or lack of commitment to transparency. Weve seen how companies with very different values limit users. There is no guarantee that services that support democracy and basic rights of expression will win.
More generally, we are in a time when the entire industry and our companies are coming under increased scrutiny. Technology plays a bigger role in our lives and society, and we make mistakes too. But if healthy skepticism turns into full-blown hostility, well put a lot of progress at risk. Six million Americans work in the Internet industry. Last year, our industry invested more than $60 billion, helping drive research and innovation in this country. The Internet industry accounts for 10.1% of the US GDP, and the services we provide have created a lot of value for peoples lives.
These jobs, investments and innovations did not happen by accident. They are the result of our willingness to try new things, which of course are difficult and dont always work. I understand peoples concerns about Libra. But I think it would be bad for our country and bad for the world if businesses were unwilling to take on such a challenge and opted for more conservative options to entrench the status quo. This will damage our nations reputation for innovation, make our economy less competitive, and ultimately concentrate more power in the hands of existing players.
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combat discrimination
While we believe in innovation, we also recognize our responsibility to ensure that the products and services we launch are used to do good. For example, people should not be discriminated against on Facebook.
A. Prevention of Discrimination in Advertising
Advertisers on Facebook can choose to show their ads to people interested in a particular topic. This is an important part of how our platform democratizes advertising. If you run a small business, you can show your ads to people who might be interested in them, such as people who are interested in a particular product or service you offer.
Our policies have long prohibited discrimination, but weve made significant changes to our advertising platforms to further prevent advertisers from abusing our tools to discriminate in their targeted ads.
Earlier this year, we announced changes to the way we manage housing, employment and credit ads. Its part of historic settlements with civil rights groups like the National Fair Housing Coalition, and builds on ongoing input from civil rights experts.
Advertisers who want to post ads on these topics must now go through a special ad buying process that doesnt allow ads to be targeted by age, gender or zip code. During these special ad buying processes, we have limited the interest-based categories available to advertisers to a small number of ads that are not related to these protected categories. We enable people to search and view all current housing ads in the United States by advertiser, regardless of who they are shown to. Were committed to going beyond the settlement to get people searching for U.S. job and credit ads on Facebook.
We have more to do here. But were proud of these recent efforts, and they send a message that Facebook is committed to protecting civil rights and protecting our users from potential discrimination. The National Fair Housing Alliance has taken note, and we are making changes to make Facebook a pacesetter and leader on civil rights issues in tech.
B. Our Civil Rights Audit
Advertising is just one way people interact with our platform, which is why we work hard to make sure our policies are fair and equitable. Its a testament to our efforts that we actively cooperated with civil rights leader Laura Murphy in a civil rights audit of our company.
Created and formalized a Civil Rights Task Force that meets monthly to uncover, discuss, and address civil rights issues;
Expand our longstanding ban on white supremacy to include white nationalism and white separatism;
Work to prevent misinformation and interference in the upcoming election and the 2020 Census;
Update our policies and take steps to be more proactive in the fight against voter suppression. For example, during the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, our team found and removed more than 45,000 pieces of voter suppression content designed to keep people from voting. We proactively identify over 90% of content before users report it to Facebook.
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Our Commitment to Diversity
We know we need a different perspective from our workforce. Thats why we make diversity a priority when we hire. We have a lot of work to do, but we are committed to our goal of having at least 50 percent of our workforce comprised of women, people of color and other underrepresented groups within the next five years.
Today, Facebook has more people of diverse backgrounds and experiences, more people of color, more women in technical and business roles, and more underrepresented people in leadership. By focusing on recruiting and developing female leaders within the company, we have achieved higher representation of women in leadership. Over the past few years, most new female leaders have been promoted internally. Last year, we spent more than $400 million on certifying diverse suppliers, a 73% increase over 2017. Thirty-four percent of these vendors are female-owned, and 70 percent are minority-owned.
conclusion
As part of our efforts, we seek to build strong relationships with organizations that support people of color and women. We have partnerships with organizations such as CodePath.org, the United Negro College Foundation, and historically black colleges and universities. We run internship programs like Facebook University — for students from underrepresented communities, and Facebook Summer Academy — for high school students in Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, and San Francisco. Our investment in K12 education programs may not show up in years of hiring statistics, but we are committed to giving more people from underrepresented groups the skills and experience they need to find jobs in tech.
Ill be the first to admit that we still have a lot of work to do. We have not yet achieved diversity, especially at the leadership level. Weve spent a lot of time focusing on diversity in a rigorous way, but the improvements weve made still havent had the far-reaching impact wed hoped. But were still committed to that, and were going to work hard to meet our diversity goals. If we can do this, Facebook will be a stronger company, better equipped to advance our mission and take on the responsibilities that come with it.
