Keep Big Tech out of Finance? Draft Bill Surfaced Ahead of Libra Hearings

The draft bill entitled “Keep Big Tech out of Finance” has appeared online ahead of Facebook’s hearing on 16 and 17 July. The bill is allegedly circulating among The United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, as revealed by media outlet The BLOCK on 13 July.

The drafted discussion bill titled “Keep Big Tech out of Finance” is intended to prevent tech firms from becoming financial institutions. It stated, “A large platform utility may not establish, maintain, or operate a digital asset that is intended to be widely used as medium of exchange, unit of account, store of value, or any other similar function, as defined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.”

The bill defines “Large Platform Utility” as follows:

1)   With annual global revenue of $25 billion or more;

2)   Predominately engaged in the business of offering to the public an online marketplace, an exchange, or a platform for connecting third parties.

The Senate banking committee will hold a hearing titled “Examining Facebook’s Proposed Digital Currency and Data Privacy Considerations” on Facebook Libra on 16 July. The United States House Committee of Financial Services will hold a hearing titled “Examining Facebook’s Proposed Cryptocurrency and its Impact on Consumers, Investors, and the American Financial System” on Facebook Libra on 17 July.

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