Key Takeaways from Facebook’s David Marcus Testifying In Front of the US Senate on Tuesday
On Tuesday, July 16, the U.S. Senators had gathered to clarify with Facebook’s head of blockchain division David Marcus about the company’s upcoming launch of its native cryptocurrency Libra.
The lawmakers had put some tough questions for Marcus interrogating him on privacy and trust concerns of the project. To this Marcus said that Facebook will take all measures for regulatory compliance and assured that users social and financial data will be completely separate on the Calibra blockchain network. Marcus further added that “to earn people’s trust, we will have to have the highest standards in terms of privacy.”
Senator Jon Tester questioned Libra’s ability to prevent fraudulent purchases or the loss of funds. Mr. Tester said that it is very important that Facebook’s takes care of this matter before they go live. Marcus has assured that Facebook will be working to resolve all such issues as soon as possible.
Ohio’s Senator Sherrod Brown asked a very poignant question to Marcus saying why should people trust them with their hard-earned money. To this, Marcus had nothing much to say but to add that “will have no special privilege”.
However, Marcus warned the lawmakers that global organizations are already raising the competition bar in the digital currency space, and if the US fails to take action quickly, “we could soon see a digital currency controlled by others whose values differ radically from ours,” he said.
Besides, David Marcus has also assured that in the distribution of the Libra stablecoin, Facebook completely intends to comply with the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Senator Cortez Masto asked him what measures does Facebook’s Libra will take to prevent illicit activities of money laundering and terror financing. Responding to Masto, Marcus again stressed on Facebook’s commitment to FinCEN and assured that the company will have an anti-money-laundering program.
One thing is sure that Facebook’s entry in the crypto space has forced regulators to seriously initiate regulatory measures. So far, the regulators were delaying it thereby resulting in a major slowdown of the crypto industry.
Senator Mike Crapo said: “We've got to look at how we structure data protection in the United States […] We need to move to a comprehensive approach. What that structure exactly is, I can't tell you.”
Senator Sherrod Brown said that the US citizens no longer trust big tech companies. He added: "Clearly, Americans don't trust Wall Street. They now are putting big tech and big banks in the same category. Because they've seen the betrayal and the undermining of our democratic values in Facebook and in other tech companies."