Zuckerberg tells Congress he won't launch Libra without US regulators' blessing
No-friend zone... Facebook's Zuckerberg put a suit on for like the 2nd time in his life, showed up in DC, and got poked by politicians on the House Financial Services committee. He should've worn body armor. The representatives scolded Facebook's political ad policies, misinformation on newsfeeds, and even discrimination at the company. Then, finally, they talked about Libra. For hours.
A digital-only currency for the billions of Facebookers worldwide... Mark tried to explain how his proposed cryptocurrency, Libra, should be regulated and how it'll operate. It was a struggle. But we did learn this:
- How Zuck's pitching this to skeptical politicians: Do goodyness. “There are more than a billion people around the world who don't have access to a bank account, but they could through mobile phones if the right system existed.”
- How Zuck plans to make money: Through ads. "Buy with Libra" is a powerful button that would increase the value of ads on Facebook, letting it charge more.
- How Zuck will launch Libra: This one's key — Only with US regulators' blessing.
That last promise could doom Libra... The majority of the un-banked Zuck wants to help? They live outside the US — but Libra is now at US regulators' mercy. That's totally different than Facebook's move fast and break things past, or Uber's entire expansion strategy. So far, politicians aren't impressed — the top Republican on the committee put it simply: "I’m not sure we learned anything new here as policy makers."