UK: Watchdog asks for more Libra info

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK announced it sent out a statement to Facebook and 28 other outfits asking for more information about the Libra project, according to a report by Reuters.

Specifically, the query, which was sent out on Monday, August 5, wants more openness about the project as well as details about how customer data will be used and protected.

Facebook has announced it will release Libra sometime in 2020. That news has brought out a multitude of regulators, lawmakers, and leaders around the globe who are concerned that the currency won’t be regulated closely enough and could potentially upend the global financial market.

The ICO also wants to ensure that Facebook will only ask for the minimum amount of the required data and that the company uses a transparent process. It also wants to know how the data will be shared between members of the Libra network.

The ICO statement is signed by numerous authorities in Europe, Africa, Australasia, and the Americas.

Previously, Switzerland’s data privacy regulator asked for information from Facebook after the company stated it was going to use the organization to ensure Libra was properly regulated. The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers, as well as central bankers in several countries, all say the proposed cryptocurrency needs to be closely so that it doesn’t disrupt existing financial systems.

Already, scammers have begun releasing fake versions to fool the public. A growing list of websites, as well as Facebook pages and groups, claim to sell Libra tokens on Facebook and Instagram. The fake communications reportedly feature Facebook’s logo, branding and photos of Mark Zuckerberg or Libra’s official marketing imagery.

“Facebook removes ads and pages that violate our policies when we become aware of them, and we are constantly working to improve detection of scams on our platforms,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.

Facebook’s inability to detect the circulation of fraudsters could further discredit Libra and generate even more distrust as regulators investigate the proposed global currency.