Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg faced bipartisan, hostile questions in a congressional hearing Wednesday focused on the social media company’s plans to launch its own cryptocurrency known as Libra. Zuckerberg acknowledged concerns about the Libra project, saying he would not allow Facebook to move forward unless he got explicit approval from all U.S. financial regulators. Rep. Maxine Waters, the Los Angeles Democrat who chairs the committee, said the Libra project “creates many concerns” and suggested 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, in written testimony prepared for the hearing, aimed to reassure lawmakers that his company won’t try to evade financial regulators as it readies Libra.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 23, 2019 15:00 UTC