Zuckerberg defends Facebook's currency plans before Congress

Zuckerberg testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill on Oct 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. Zuckerberg testified about Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency Libra, how his company will handle false and misleading information by political leaders during the 2020 campaign and how it handles its users data and privacy. — AFP

WASHINGTON: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg endured hours of prickly questioning from lawmakers on Oct 23 as he defended the company's new globally ambitious project to create a digital currency while also dealing with widening scrutiny from US regulators.

The immediate focus of the hearing by the House Financial Services Committee was the project for the currency, to be called Libra. Zuckerberg took pains to reassure lawmakers that he wouldn't allow Facebook to move forward without explicit approval from all US financial regulators.