Facebook Inc.’s plan for its own digital currency is drawing yet another round of fire in Washington, this time in the form of a letter from more than 30 groups influential with Democrats demanding a halt to the project to deal with the “profound questions” it raises.
In their letter to leaders of five congressional committees, organizations including the Service Employees International Union, the Consumer Federation of America and Public Citizen argued that regulators aren’t prepared to address issues surrounding the Libra project and that the social-networking giant needs to present a fuller picture of its plans.
“All of us believe the risks posed by Facebook’s proposal are too great to allow the plan to proceed with so many unanswered questions,” the groups said. Their demand echoes House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters’ earlier call for lawmakers to impose a moratorium and may set the tone for this month’s congressional hearings on the issue.
Facebook’s announcement of the digital currency plan last month incurred a fresh wave of lawmaker criticism of the company, which was already under fire in Washington for a series of stumbles including major data breaches and allowing Russians to hijack its platform during the 2016 election to push President Donald Trump’s candidacy.
Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg News.