US senators seek information on Facebook's "Libra" cryptographic project



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The US Senate Banking Committee is clearly concerned about Facebook's new cryptocurrency project and how it handles personal financial information.

The banking committee Thursday wrote an open letter to Facebook's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, asking him to share details of his secret cryptocurrency project, with a particular focus on consumer privacy.

"Last year, Facebook asked US banks to share detailed financial information about consumers," says the letter:

In addition, privacy experts raised questions about Facebook's extensive data collection practices and whether any of the data collected by Facebook was used for purposes that impose or should submit Facebook to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. "

In light of these concerns, the committee would like Zuckerberg to explain how the Facebook cryptocurrency, referred to as the "Project Libra" code, would work; what Facebook has done for financial regulators; and what users can expect in terms of privacy and consumer protection.

More generally, the committee asked Facebook to share consumer financial information shared by banks and other financial institutions; what does Facebook do with this information (including whether this information is shared or sold to third parties); if Facebook has a credit rating and other personal information about individuals; and how Facebook avoids violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Little is known about the Balance project. The company quietly began building a research team at Blockchain last year, led by Vice President and former member of the Coinbase Board of Directors, David Marcus.

Since then, the company has published numerous job offers for the team, and industry figures such as MIT scientist Christian Catalini, also joined the project.

The company would seek to raise up to a billion dollars for the project, which will serve as collateral to support a stable currency.

The image of Mark Zuckerberg via Frederic Legrand – COMEO / Shutterstock

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