29.03.2024

Facebook COO Sandberg in Talks to Testify On Libra Before The House

According to a Bloomberg article from Sept. 26, Facebook is currently trying to get its chief operating officer Sandberg in front of the House Financial Services Committee, perhaps as soon as next month.

Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg is in talks with the House Financial Services Committee to testify on Libra, Facebook’s stablecoin.

Sandberg is expected to testify on the social media giant’s global market power and its plans to launch its stablecoin Libra in 2020, a source familiar with the talks told Bloomberg.

Discussions on market power and Libra

Sanberg’s previously testified in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee concerning data privacy, security and the U.S. presidential election-related misinformation campaigns on Facebook’s platform in 2016.

Mr. Zuckerberg goes to Washington

This testimony would follow a recent visit from Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Washington, D.C., where he had dinner with a handful of United States lawmakers, concerned over Facebook’s proposed Libra stablecoin project.

Democratic Senator Mark R. Warner said Zuckerberg heard “consistent concerns about privacy, concerns around vile content and how it came to be dealt with.”

Facebook still set on 2020 Libra Launch

Last week David Marcus, head of Calibra at Facebook, signaled that a 2020 launch for Libra remains the goal, despite regulators’ pushback, by saying that the team behind Libra would address all concerns to create a suitable regulatory environment.

Facebook-Led Libra Could Be Boon to UN, Says Crypto Project’s Chief

The head of the Libra Association has argued that the Facebook-led cryptocurrency could be a boon to the U.N., according to Reuters.

Talking at a blockchain event hosted at the U.N. headquarters in Geneva – where the non-profit association is incorporated – managing director Bertrand Perez said the cryptocurrency could help the intergovernmental organization achieve its sustainable development goals (SDGs) in areas such as eliminating poverty and achieving gender equality.

Libra is planned as a stablecoin backed by a reserve of fiat currencies and government bonds. It is slated for launch in mid-to-late 2020, although Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg yesterday appeared to suggest that timeline is not set in stone.

Perez also addressed concerns from regulators that Libra could be a threat to national monetary policy, saying it is not creating money with the project.

France has said it would seek to block Libra in the EU due to the threat to its “monetary sovereignty”, while Germany and the U.S. have also expressed similar fears.

Perez stressed:

 “We are not in the area of implementing any monetary policy with the Libra Reserve.”

Forbes also reports that, during the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week in New York, that blockchain is increasingly being viewed as a tech that could help the organization achieve its SDGs.

Dr. Jane Thomason from University College London’s Centre for Blockchain Technology said, “An increasing number of blockchain events at and around the UNGA this year focused on demonstrating how blockchain is continuing to contribute to the SDGs by offering up some excellent use cases.”

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