ZUCKERBERG DEFENDS FB’S CURRENCY

Washington: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg endured hours of prickly questioning from lawmakers as he defended the company’s new globally ambitious project to create a digital currency while also dealing with widening scrutiny from US regulators.

The immediate focus of the hearing by the House Financial Services Committee was the project for the currency, to be called Libra. Zuckerberg took pains to reassure lawmakers that he wouldn't allow Facebook to move forward without explicit approval from all US financial regulators. Members of the House Financial Services committee were not convinced.

Rep. Maxine Waters, the California Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, said that Facebook's cryptocurrency project Libra “create many concerns” and argued that maybe Facebook should be broken up.

On the Republican side, Rep. Ann Wagner of Missouri asked Zuckerberg why several high-profile corporations have recently departed the Libra project. Zuckerberg, momentarily at a loss for words, noted that “it’s a risky enterprise”.

While the hearing is focused on the digital currency, the full range of Facebook’s policies, conduct and market dominance is attracting congressional attention. It’s the Facebook chief’s first testimony to Congress. The company seems to spark public and official anger at every turn these days, from its shift into messaging services that allow encrypted conversations to its alleged anticompetitive behavior to its refusal to take down phony political ads or doctored videos.