By Pascal OparadaSocial Media/Tech Reporter
A bill seeking to ban big tech companies from offering financial services and digital currencies has been circulated by the Democratic majority-led House Financial Services Committee, reports Reuters.
The bill is seen as a move to curtail Facebook’s proposed digital currency, Libra.
Libra has aroused widespread objection from both President Donald Trump and U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell, who told lawmakers that Libra could not move forward unless it addressed privacy issues.
It proposes a fine of $1 million daily for any violations by any big tech companies.
And the Committee describes big tech companies as one with annual revenue of N25 billion.
Facebook, which would qualify to be such an entity, said last month it would launch its global crypto currency in 2020.
The draft legislation titled, “Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act”, will likely meet with objection from Republicans who are innovation inclined.
Facebook and 28 other partners, including MasterCard, PayPal Holdings and Uber Technologies would form the Libra Association to regulate the new coin.
Facebook’s head of blockchain subsidiary, Calibra, David Marcus, said in a prepared testimony to congress that Libra Association would be regulated by the Swiss government since that is where it would be headquartered.
“The Libra Association expects that it will be licensed, regulated, and subject to supervisory oversight. Because the Association is headquartered in Geneva, it will be supervised by the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA)” Marcus writes.
“We have had preliminary discussions with FINMA and expect to engage with them on an appropriate regulatory framework for the Libra Association. The Association also intends to register with FinCEN [The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network] as a money services business,” he said.
