Thursday, March 28, 2024

Zuckerberg to testify before House

Date:

Share post:

WASHINGTON – Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on October 23 as the social media company faces growing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over a planned cryptocurrency and other issues including advertising policies.

Zuckerberg will testify at a hearing titled “An Examination of Facebook and Its Impact on the Financial Services and Housing Sectors.” It will be his first appearance before a U.S. congressional committee since April 2018 although last month he was on Capitol Hill to meet privately with some lawmakers.

Zuckerberg is likely to be peppered with critical questions from lawmakers sceptical of Facebook’s efforts to help launch a global cryptocurrency called Libra. Also, the federal government charged Facebook in March with violating fair lending laws, saying the company sold targeted advertising that was racially discriminatory.

Rep. Maxine Waters, the Democrat who chairs the panel, has been fiercely critical of Facebook, calling on it to halt its Libra project, which the company has said would launch in the middle of 2020.

Zuckerberg’s testimony will come at a precarious time for Libra. U.S. payments processor PayPal Holdings Inc. said this month it was leaving the Libra Association, a group of private companies helping develop the currency.

The project also faces significant scepticism from global regulators wary of what a digital currency with a potentially massive scale could mean for the financial system. On Tuesday, the European Union’s finance commissioner said he would push for new rules to regulate virtual currencies, reacting to Facebook’s plans to introduce Libra which the EU considers a risk to financial stability.

Facebook confirmed Zuckerberg will testify, which will come as the world’s largest social media company faces scrutiny not only from Congress, but the Federal Trade Commission and a group of state attorneys general over antitrust issues. (Reuters)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Related articles

Minister Abrahams’ statement on Ismail Patel’s passing

Below is the full statement by Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams: I was saddened to...

Water bills for March to include February charges

A few weeks ago, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) informed customers in parts of Christ Church and St....

BWA making a connection at the Bridgetown Port

The Barbados Water Authority (BWA) informs businesses near The Shallow Draft at the Bridgetown Port that the BWA...

Beyoncé shares ‘Cowboy Carter’ tracklist

Yeehaw! Beyoncé’s new album is almost here. The singer revealed the tracklist for “Act 2: Cowboy Carter” on Instagram...