Top lawmakers are not hesitating to examine Facebook's ambitious new cryptocurrency project.
in the days following its plan to launch a global cryptocurrency. The social network's announcement Tuesday caught the attention of Waters and other senior congressional finance committee members, global regulators, former lawmakers and industry insiders who questioned Facebook's ambitions.
"With the announcement that it plans to create a cryptocurrency, Facebook is continuing its unchecked expansion and extending its reach into the lives of its users," Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a statement Tuesday. She asked that the company agree to delay the project until Congress and financial watchdogs can take a closer look.
Waters is not the only Congress member pushing back on Facebook's plan. The senior Republican on the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Patrick McHenry said "its potential unprecedented impact on the global financial system" and called for a hearing. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the senior Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said "Facebook is already too big and too powerful, and it has used that power to exploit users' data without protecting their privacy.
"We look forward to responding to lawmakers' questions as this process moves forward," a Facebook spokesperson told CNBC.
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