David Marcus, head of Calibra, the division building Facebook’s digital currency products, said the firm will bundle its own wallet with Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, but allow users to transfer their data to competitors. And, he said Calibra will not sell users’ Libra transaction data, and will get their consent if it used the information to offer financial services. (The Logic)
Talking point: Marcus’s assurances did not satisfy many of the senators questioning him. Both Democratic and Republican committee members told him they no longer trust Facebook. And, at least one of Marcus’s claims was immediately challenged following the hearing. The Facebook executive told the committee that the Swiss federal data protection and information commissioner would be the main privacy watchdog for the Libra Association, which will govern the coin and is based in Switzerland. But the regulator said it has not been contacted by Facebook. Some senators did express support. Pat Toomey, chair of the key financial institutions subcommittee, said Libra is an “exciting innovation” and should be allowed to proceed for now. Meanwhile, representatives of Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook will face questions about antitrust investigations into their practices by U.S. government agencies when they appear at the House Judiciary Committee later on Tuesday.