Facebook Inc’s plans to create a new cryptocurrency that could be used for everything from commerce to money transfers is facing pushback from US lawmakers.
US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters urged the company to halt development of the token until the US Congress and regulators could examine it.
Other lawmakers demanded hearings and questioned whether the coin, called Libra, would have appropriate oversight.
The scrutiny shows the risks for the corporate titan, which already faces deep skepticism in Washington, of moving into a controversial industry such as cryptocurrencies.
Still reeling from allegations that it failed to protect users’ data, the Silicon Valley power is now entering a space that is known for its lax regulation and resistance to oversight.
“Facebook has data on billions of people and has repeatedly shown a disregard for the protection and careful use of this data,” Waters said in a statement. “With the announcement that it plans to create a cryptocurrency, Facebook is continuing its unchecked expansion and extending its reach into the lives of its users.”
US Representative Patrick McHenry, the top Republican on the committee, wants Waters to hold a hearing, saying that Congress needs to go “beyond the rumors and speculations and provide a forum to assess this project and its potential unprecedented impact on the global financial system.”
Particular concerns lawmakers have had about digital currencies include the risk that consumers’ coins might be stolen and the potential for money laundering.
David Marcus, the Facebook executive leading the company’s cryptocurrency and blockchain efforts, last week told Bloomberg that he has been in touch with regulators and central banks in multiple countries.
“We really wanted to make them stakeholders early on in the process and get their feedback early on,” he said.
“We look forward to responding to lawmakers’ questions as this process moves forward,” a Facebook spokeswoman said.
Facebook intends to launch its coin next year.
US Senator Mark Warner said that he was concerned the company appears to be using its corporate heft to move into and try to dominate new industries.
US Senator Sherrod Brown, the top Democrat on the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, made a point that was common in lawmakers’ statements: Regulators must make sure Facebook users are protected.
However, like others, he did not identify a particular watchdog, perhaps signaling uncertainty over who might police Libra.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission typically steps in when companies raise money by selling ownership stakes in an asset likes shares.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has oversight of trading in futures and derivatives, but not underlying digital tokens.
States and banking regulators such as the US Federal Reserve could potentially have a role in regulating Libra.
Facebook on Tuesday unveiled its much-rumored currency and said it would launch publicly early next year with such partners as Uber Technologies Inc, Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc and PayPal Inc.
Facebook said that a Libra subsidiary that would create crypto wallets that could be used to pay for items would be regulated, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Facebook did not say which agency will have jurisdiction.
French Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire said that only governments can issue sovereign currencies, adding that Facebook must ensure that Libra would not hurt consumers or be used for illegal activities.
“We will demand guarantees that such transactions cannot be diverted, for example for financing terrorism,” he said on Europe-1 radio.
Le Maire said that he asked heads of the central banks of G7 nations to produce a report by the middle of next month laying out “guarantees that we must set ... to assure us that there are no risks of illicit financing or for the consumer.”
Additional reporting by AP
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained