Facebook needs to put a hold on plans for Libra, US Congresswoman says

Facebook has recently announced that cryptocurrency Libra will be set to launch next year. However, it seems that not everyone is so keen on the idea for now. A U.S. Congresswoman, Maxine Walters, has called for Facebook to put a hold on the project for now.

Among a series of concerns including Facebook’s striped history with user data and privacy policies, Walters called for Facebook to testify before the House Financial Services Committee:

“Given the company’s troubled past, I am requesting that Facebook agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on developing a crypto-currency until Congress and regulators have the opportunity to examine these issues and take action,”

In response, a Facebook spokesman said that Facebook’s decision makers would have no issue with responding to policymakers’ questions. This isn’t the only dissenting voice against Facebook’s plan to expand into fintech and cryptocurrency, with U.S. senator opining that Facebook has become “too big and too powerful”.

Facebook is partnering up with a number of companies in the Libra Association to launch Libra, a digital cryptocurrency, sometime next year. Alongside that, the tech giant is also planning to launch an e-wallet to store your Libra in—Calibra.

Facebook is supposedly pushing Libra/Calibra so that anyone with a smartphone can send and receive Libra and make payments—an estimated 1.7 billion adults worldwide do not have access to conventional financial services and for those who have access, it can be slow and costly.

But clearly, not everyone is on board. The Financial Times reports that G7 nations also plan to form a committee to consider the potential for abuse for Libra, such as possible money-laundering.