US Congressman: Facebook Should Add Bitcoin, Not Create Libra

에 게시 됨 by Cointele | 에 게시 됨

United States Rep. Warren Davidson has said that Facebook adding Bitcoin to its Calibra wallet would be a "Way better idea" than creating its new currency, Libra.

In an interview for the Noded Bitcoin podcast on Oct. 11, the Congressman said that "Part of the beauty" of Facebook's unveiling its proposed Libra stablecoin is that it crystallized all of the problems that already exist on the social media platform today.

"Do we want filtered transactions or freedom?"Davidson argued that the Congressional hearings devoted to Libra this July had compounded the intense pressure Facebook is already under, noting that "a lot of the questions weren't even about Libra."

"Facebook already filters content - some people say with bias, some people say it's great, they're protecting my safe space So do we want filtered speech or free speech? Do we want filtered transactions or freedom?".

Podcast host Pierre Rochard argued that the Congressional hearings had nonetheless been an ideal vehicle through which observers - many of them hailing from the traditional financial sector - were able to come to a better understanding of Bitcoin through coming to realize the problems inherent to a centralized and private initiative such as Libra.

Libra - as a means of payment - could undoubtedly destabilize the status quo, Davidson said, pointing to the fluidity with which monolithic tech giants such as Facebook and Google almost begin to acquire quasi-sovereign properties, challenging governments' authority.

Libra focuses attention on Facebook's prior failings.

During the congressional hearings devoted to Libra this July, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters - chair of the United States House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee - made the explicit connection between concerns raised during earlier Facebook controversies and the platform's bid to launch a stablecoin.

Waters had already requested that Facebook halt work on Libra in the middle of June, soon after the project's unveiling.

U.S. lawmakers have also pointedly asked Facebook how they could be expected to trust a firm whose collection, storage and misuse of customer data had landed it a $5 billion penalty.

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