The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing on July 16 regarding Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, Libra.
The hearing, “Examining Facebook’s Proposed Digital Currency and Data Privacy Considerations,” comes in the wake of calls from members of Congress to more closely examine Libra and its potential risks. There have even been calls to halt work on the project until hearings are held.
In light of those comments, a Facebook representative said that “we look forward to responding to lawmakers’ questions as this process moves forward.”
The July 16 meeting will be held at 10 a.m. EST, and as of yet, no information about witnesses has been released. The hearing will be broadcast to the public.
It was the Banking Committee that wrote an open letter to Facebook last month seeking answers about its work on Libra, including how it works and to what extent the social media giant has sought input from regulators and market watchdogs.
As of this week, Facebook hadn’t directly responded to that letter, with a representative telling CoinDesk that “we received the letter and are addressing the senators’ questions.”
After today’s hearing news broke, committee member and 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted that “Facebook has too much power and a terrible track record when it comes to protecting our private information. We need to hold them accountable—not give them the chance to access even more user data. #BreakUpBigTech.”
U.S. Capitol image via Shutterstock
Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said Wednesday that social media giant Facebook met with the central bank in the run-up to the reveal of its Libra cryptocurrency.
Speaking during a press conference that followed a two-day Fed policy meeting, Powell was asked if he or the Fed had any concerns about Libra affecting the central bank’s ability to conduct monetary policy, as well as if Facebook met with Fed officials.
“You know Facebook, I believe, has made quite broad rounds around the world with regulators, supervisors and lots of people to discuss their plans and that certainly includes us,” he said.
As for potential effects on monetary policymaking, Powell said that “we’re a long way from that,” going on to note that “digital currencies are in their infancy.”
“So essentially…not too concerned about the central banks no longer being able to carry out monetary policy because of cryptocurrencies or digital currencies,” he continued.
“It’s something we’re looking at,” said Powell, going on to state:
On Tuesday, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said that Libra could be subject to the “highest standards” in global regulation and that the U.K. central bank would be looking “very closely” at the initiative.
Powell also noted that “we don’t have plenary authority over cryptocurrencies” when asked if the Fed would directly oversee Libra, but he highlighted the Fed’s role in international regulatory groups, suggesting that the U.S. central bank would likely have input in any regulations that take shape in the wake of Facebook’s Libra debut.
Image via Wikicommons
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