London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

Congress grills Facebook boss over currency plan

Congress grills Facebook boss over currency plan

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tried to reassure sceptical US lawmakers over the safety of the social network's proposed digital currency Libra.

At a fractious hearing in Washington, members of Congress attacked plans for the payment system, warning it could be abused by criminals and terrorists.

Mr Zuckerberg was also challenged over claims that he had lied to US regulators in the past.

But he promised Libra would not be launched without government approval.

He said Facebook would leave the Libra Association if the consortium tried to launch a cryptocurrency without the permission of US regulators.


What are the concerns about Libra?

Mr Zuckerberg's appearance before the House Committee on Financial Services comes after a tough month for the Libra project.

Eight of the 28 founding members of the Libra Association - set up to independently govern the currency - have pulled out. They included Mastercard, Visa, eBay and PayPal.

Meanwhile, regulators around the world continue to express concern about the project. The G7 group of nations has vowed to block it unless Facebook can prove it is safe and secure.

There are concerns the currency could be used for money laundering, disrupt the global financial system, or give Facebook too much control over user data.


How did Zuckerberg respond?

He told the hearing that he understood the reservations about Libra but was determined to persevere.

"I get that I'm not the ideal messenger for this right now. We've faced a lot of issues over the past few years and I'm sure there are a lot of people who wish it were anyone but Facebook that was helping to propose this," he said.

"But there is a reason we care about this and that's because Facebook is about putting power into people's hands."

He said Libra was a prime example of "American innovation" and could help more than a billion adults without a bank account worldwide.

Facebook would not control the Libra Association and would instead occupy one seat on a governing board of five, he added.


Grilling or roasting?

As is often the case when Mark Zuckerberg is in Congress, the agenda deviates from the subject at hand.

One exchange stood out, and it wasn't about Libra. Ann Wagner, a Republican congresswoman for Missouri, said that Facebook's plan to introduce end-to-end encryption on its Messenger app would make it harder for authorities to discover instances of images of child sexual abuse being shared.

That matters: 12m such images were shared on Facebook last year. It's by far the biggest platform for that kind of illegal material sharing.

While other services, like WhatsApp and Apple's iMessage, are encrypted, experts in child safety say the main Facebook platform is of greater concern when it comes to paedophiles searching for, finding, and grooming children - all on the same platform.

"What are you doing to shut this down?" Ms Wagner demanded to know.

Mr Zuckerberg cited tools developed by Facebook to detect the material, but eventually admitted: "It will be harder to find some of this behaviour."

He'll need to find better answers - or face a scandal that may well dwarf all the others.


What did other panel members say?

Mr Zuckerberg's testimony was largely met with scepticism as members of Congress focused on the social network's past failings in areas such as data protection.

Maxine Waters, the Democratic chairwoman of the panel, pointed out that the social network was the subject of an antitrust investigation. She said it had "allowed" Russia to interfere with the US election in 2016.

It had "huge" reach, with an audience of 2.7 billion users, she said, adding: "Perhaps you feel you are above the law?"

She said it would be "beneficial for all if Facebook concentrates on addressing its many existing deficiencies and failures before proceeding any further on the Libra project".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
×