- Congress not Buying Mark Zuckerberg’s Libra Testimony
- Should the Libra Project Be Dissolved?
In the recent development with Facebook’s Libra approval, CEO Mark Zuckerberg went back to Capitol Hill to testify before Congress about the company’s planned use of the cryptocurrency, also refuting the concerns surrounding Facebook’s regulatory measure. Zuckerberg’s first testimony to Congress since his last journey to Capitol Hill back in April 2018 after the Cambridge Analytical data breach. Sadly, much could not be achieved by both lawmakers and consumers this can be attached to some congress’ persistent lack of understanding of the importance of Facebook’s role in Silicon Valley and Zuckerberg’s failure to take account of the billion users he believes he is helping.
Although, it did not come as a surprise that Zuckerberg experienced an aggressive line of questioning from Congress. One of the shocking comments came from Maxine Water, the Democratic Representative from California, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee. She commented that Facebook’s Libra would “create many concerns,” currently, Facebook may be running out of time perhaps the company should be dissolved.
Should the Libra Project Be Dissolved?
Facebook is not relenting as the company continues to prove that it has the power to be a market leader, and its billion user-base spread across the universe have come to trust the social media giant. Although with the ongoing inspections going on, the company’s data collection process and internal security protocols, Congress is not only alarmed about the consumer digital impression but also Facebook’s whole impression
Waters stated: “Perhaps you believe that you’re above the law, and it appears that you are aggressively increasing the size of your company, and are willing to step over anyone, including your competitors, women, people of color, your users, and even our democracy to get what you want.” He further explained that: “…in fact, [Facebook] [has] opened up a serious discussion about whether Facebook should be broken up.”
In his prepared statement to Congress, Zuckerberg stated that, “[Facebook] support[s] Libra delaying its launch until it has fully addressed U.S. regulatory concerns,” he states that lawmakers need to acknowledge that before it can address Facebook’s cryptocurrency project, Congress needs to see numerical proof on how the company has reacted to the Federal Trade Commission’s settlement order subsequent to the investigation into the company’s data security practices.
On this issue, Zuckerberg stated: “I believe this is something that needs to get built, but I understand we’re not the ideal messenger right now, we’ve faced a lot of issues over the past few years.” Zuckerberg believes Libra’s aim falls in line with the company’s mission of empowering users.
Max writes about blockchain projects and regulation with a special focus on United States and China. He joined Smarterum after years of writing for various media outlets.
