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A day after appearing before the Senate Banking Committee, David Marcus, head of Project Libra, was back in front of US lawmakers today. It is being reported by Coindesk that while Marcus did answer many questions, he mostly stuck to the same rhetoric that he and Facebook have been pushing out so far.
Marcus reiterated the fact that Libra would comply entirely with regulators concerns, but would not commit to halting the project until those concerns are addressed. Chairwoman Maxine Waters specifically asked for a commitment to a moratorium on the development of Libra:
"Will you stop dancing around this question and commit here in this committee … to a moratorium until Congress enacts an appropriate legal framework to ensure that Libra and Calibra do what you claim it will do?"
Instead of any affirmation, Marcus reiterated that the company would "take the time to get this right." Other lawmakers pressed the issue, but every step of the way the head of Libra refrained from agreeing to stop the project.
At one point, Marcus was asked by Rep. Sean Duffy if there was any chance that Libra would ban controversial figures, such as Milo Yiannopoulos or Louis Farrakhan, in such a manner that Facebook has already done. To this Marcus replied:
"Personally, I believe we shouldn’t be in the business of telling people what they can do with their money."
He did add however that such policy would be up to the Libra Association.
Then Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez addressed Marcus, asking about the leadership in the Libra Association. Marcus explained that membership was open to anyone, pending they have the money to buy in. This led to Ocasio-Cortez noting:
"So we’re discussing a currency governed by private corporations... Do you believe the currency is a public good? Do you believe Libra should be a public good?"
Marcus declined to decide on that issue.
Whether you like the Libra or not, it sounds like the US government is grilling the project to get to the bottom of how it should be regulated. Will Facebook convince the US it can play by the rules? Stick with Chepicap for all updates on this unfolding drama!
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