The discussions and debates around Facebook’s ambitious cryptocurrency project Libra never seem to come to an end. It is a well-known fact that Facebook has faced a lot of flak from policymakers, globally, citing data privacy, money laundering, security, consumer protection, and other illegal usage concerns. Now, the head of Calibra David Marcus has stated that they will be effectively addressing the concerns raised by the regulators and unveiling Libra only when they have got all the necessary approvals from the concerned authorities.
Marcus was slated to testify before the Senate committee on 16th and 17th July as the authorities had demanded an immediate halt in the development of Libra.
Providing further clarifications over concerns on the Libra currency, Marcus said that the crypto is not being developed to enter into a competition with the conventional currencies or interfere with the monetary policies in any way. He also promised the project would have utmost privacy.
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In the Senate hearing yesterday, Marcus further disclosed that the Libra Association will only hold basic transaction details and no personal user data. Besides, the information furnished to the Calibra wallet won’t be shared with Facebook and won’t be utilized to target ads, added Marcus.
Throwing more lights on how Facebook perceives this project, Marcus stated that the Libra currency is being treated as the payment tool and not as an investment. It is meant for easing the money transfers as well as interactions. He also claimed that the Association is restricted from making profits from the blockchain data for ads or other such purposes.
Continuing further, Marcus also put forth his expectation that Libra be regulated by Switzerland’s Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner as the Libra Association has its basis in Geneva. It was also revealed that the Libra Association is engaged in initial talks regarding a suitable regulatory framework with the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority. Moreover, the Association plans to get registered as the Money Services Business with the FinCEN and thoroughly comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering standards.
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It remains to be seen whether Facebook gets all the approvals in time or has to wait longer.
