EU Probing Facebook’s Libra Over Antitrust Concerns

After hearings by United States lawmakers, Facebook is now facing a probe in the European Union for its cryptocurrency project Libra Libra Libra is a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook, Inc., that will aim to serve as a global payment system and a stable financial infrastructure that people across the world can use. The projected release date of the libra cryptocurrency is currently slated for 2020, while the project is currently being managed by the Libra Association.Headquartered from Geneva, Switzerland, the Libra Association main purpose is founded on three pillars.This includes the provision of a framework Libra is a yet-to-be-released cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook, Inc., that will aim to serve as a global payment system and a stable financial infrastructure that people across the world can use. The projected release date of the libra cryptocurrency is currently slated for 2020, while the project is currently being managed by the Libra Association.Headquartered from Geneva, Switzerland, the Libra Association main purpose is founded on three pillars.This includes the provision of a framework Read this Term.

According to a Bloomberg report, the European Commission is investigating the cryptocurrency initiative of the social media giant for “potential anti-competitive behavior.”

EU officials are concerned that Facebook can have an unfair advantage over its rivals in the Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term space due to its massive existing global user base of 2.7 billion. The Menlo Park-headquartered company also has access to mountains of data of its users, which might create a “possible competition restrictions” in the industry.

A big plan with big resistances

Facebook announced its plans to launch a digital currency in June with which it is planning to bring financial access to the unbanked masses. The company formed a Libra Association based in Switzerland to oversee its crypto project.

The plans of the social media company to jump into the payment industry also alarmed the regulators and lawmakers across the globe, most of which are hostile towards the project.

The EU is also concerned with the structure and membership of the Libra Association and is examining the possible integration of Libra-backed applications on platforms like Messenger and WhatsApp.

Facebook has already signed deals with 27 companies to be a part of the Libra Association and manage nodes for its upcoming cryptocurrency. However, one of the partners revealed that they only signed a non-binding agreement with the social media giant.

The California company is also facing a slew of resistance due to privacy concerns associated with its cryptocurrency project. It faced two consecutive hearings in the United States - one with the Senate and other in front of the House - but could not clarify some serious concerns raised by the lawmakers.

A group of global data regulators also teamed up to go after Facebook and asked the company to clarify a few concerns.