[ [link removed] ]Keep Big Tech out of banking

Petition to Congress:
"Pass H.R. 4813, the Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act."`

Add your name:

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition ►

Dear Jack,

[ [link removed] ]Keep Big Tech out of
banking

Mark Zuckerberg's recent testimony on Capitol Hill was a disaster.
Lawmakers grilled Zuckerberg over the company's repeated privacy
violations, the despicable content on its platform and its policy of
allowing outright falsehoods in political ads.^1

In addition to all that's already horrible, lawmakers also wanted to talk
about an emerging Facebook disaster – its Libra project. Libra, like
Bitcoin, is a cryptocurrency, but one under Facebook's control. In
typically Zuckerbook fashion, he insisted last week that Libra should not
be regulated like a bank or by the Securities and Exchange Commission.^2

Zuckerberg wants Facebook to control a global currency with no oversight
and no questions asked, even though his company repeatedly mishandles our
private information. That's unacceptable, and Rep. Chuy García just
introduced legislation that would put a stop to it.

[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress: Keep Big Tech out of banking. Click here to sign the
petition.

Facebook is currently under investigation by 47 state attorneys general
and regulators in multiple nations. It recently paid a record-breaking $5
billion fine for privacy violations that allowed a right-wing firm to help
sway the 2016 election. It lied to advertisers about video metrics, lied
to Congress in testimony and lied about the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Facebook has created a safe haven for white nationalism, right-wing
hatred, racism, misogyny, ethnic supremacism and fake news that fosters
violence worldwide. And now Zuckerberg is saying: Trust us.^3,4

As Rep. García put it, "Given Facebook’s track record of evading criminal
liability, abusing private data, and manipulating markets with their
monopolistic power, regulators should be considering how to break up
Facebook, not greenlighting a new, dangerous project like Libra."^5 Libra
would:^6

* Centralize corporate control by giving Facebook more power,
undermining sovereign states and giving the corporate interests behind
the project the ability to distort global currencies or undermine
governments at will.
* Promote tax dodging and money laundering by making it easier for
people to hide their money in a new network with global reach.
* Erode freedom with no clear limits on Facebook's ability to use data
from Libra purchases, bake racist discrimination into its algorithms,
change the rules in the future or demand that employees take payment
in currency it controls.
* Put consumers at risk with none of the guarantees, oversight and
protections found in traditional banking.

Libra is already under pressure, with a handful of major partners dropping
out even before Zuckerberg's testimony. But at a time when Big Tech is
increasingly looking for ways to expand its monopolistic power and use
vast reams of data to move into finance, we need a more thoughtful
response. Rep. García's legislation, the Keep Big Tech Out of Finance Act,
would prohibit Facebook and other big tech companies from preying on us
with digital currencies – and we need to make sure every member of
Congress knows it has our support.

Click the link below to tell Congress: Keep Big Tech out of banking:

[ [link removed] ][link removed]

Thank you for speaking out,

Heidi Hess, Co-Director
[ [link removed] ]CREDO Action from Working Assets

Add your name:

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition ►

References:

 1. John Constine, "[ [link removed] ]Lowlights from Zuckerberg’s Libra testimony in
Congress," TechCrunch, Oct. 23, 2019.
 2. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, "[ [link removed] ]Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García
Introduces Bill to Keep Big Tech Companies Out of Financial Sector,"
Oct. 23, 2019.
 3. Cecilia Kang, Mike Isaac and Nathaniel Popper, "[ [link removed] ]Facebook’s
Zuckerberg, Accused of Lying, Withstands a Washington ‘Beating,’" The
New York Times, Oct. 23, 2019.
 4. Tony Romm, "[ [link removed] ]Facebook will have to pay a record-breaking fine for
violating users’ privacy. But the FTC wanted more." The Washington
Post, July 22, 2019.
 5. Rep. García, "[ [link removed] ]Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García Introduces Bill to
Keep Big Tech Companies Out of Financial Sector."
 6. Public Citizen et. al., "[ [link removed] ]Open Letter Calling for Libra
Moratorium," July 2, 2019.

Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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