The chair of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee is doubling down on her calls for Facebook to pause development on its new blockchain, Libra.
Two days after calling for a hearing, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) appeared on CNBC Thursday afternoon calling for a âmoratoriumâ on Libra development.
âItâs very important for them to stop right now what theyâre doing so that we can get a handle on this,â Waters said of the social media giant. âWeâve got to protect our consumers. We just canât allow them to go to Switzerland with all of its associates and begin to compete with the dollar.â
CNBCâs Waters interview made it clear her concerns are more with Facebook than with the companyâs announced cryptocurrency project. Waters highlighted an ongoing investigation by the Federal Trade Commission into potential privacy violations concerning consumer data. She also mentioned a Department of Housing and Urban Development lawsuit that accuses Facebook of violating fair housing laws.
âAnd while weâre doing that they have moved on to develop this cryptocurrency,â Waters said on CNBC. âWeâre now going to move and weâre going to move aggressively and very quickly to deal with what is going on with this new cryptocurrency.â
Waters isnât alone in calling for public hearings on Facebookâs crypto aspirations, which were announced Tuesday. The U.S. Senateâs banking committee has already scheduled a July 16 hearing on Libra. Facebook blockchain lead David Marcus is reportedly expected to testify, according to The Verge.
You can watch the full interview below.
U.S. Representative Maxine Waters image via Shutterstock
