The Big Story: Keeping U.S. cryptocurrency globally competitive. Ahead of next week's hearing featuring Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussing cryptocurrency, another Facebook official warned this week that China will be at an advantage if U.S. policymakers fail to come up with a system to regulate cryptocurrencies like Facebook's Libra.
David Marcus, who is leading Facebook’s Libra project, warned this week that China is moving forward with plans to establish a globally competitive digital payments system as U.S. officials continue to fret over the impact of digital currencies. “The future in five years, if we don’t have a good answer, is basically China re-wiring" part of the financial world so that it's out of the reach of the U.S., Marcus said this week. He warned of "a whole part of the world completely blocked from U.S. sanctions and protected from U.S. sanctions and having a new digital reserve currency."
Marcus' comments come after twenty-one founding members and companies—including Uber, Spotify, and Coinbase—officially signed paperwork to join the Libra Association, the organization that will oversee Facebook’s digital currency project. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is scheduled to appear at a House Financial Services Committee hearing next Wednesday at 10 am to discuss Facebook’s proposed Libra currency with lawmakers.
The signing of the project’s charter came after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late last week filed an emergency injunction to halt messaging app Telegram’s $1.7 billion gram token offering. The agency has expressed the belief that initial coin offerings should be subject to SEC offering rules.
The Nuts and Bolts of Encryption. Join Engine and the Charles Koch Institute today at noon for the final panel in our three-part series on the nuts and bolts of encryption. We’ll be looking at the communities that would be impacted by law enforcement's request for backdoor access to encrypted services, including a "game" where attendees will wade through the costs and benefits of building intentional vulnerabilities. Learn more and RSVP here.
Policy Roundup:
House panel holds Section 230 hearing. Two House Energy and Commerce subcommittees held a hearing on Wednesday about Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the content moderation practices of online platforms. Many lawmakers echoed misconceptions about the law during the hearing, including the belief that including Section 230-like language in trade deals would benefit large tech companies. As we pointed out in an op-ed this week, including these types of protections in trade deals like USMCA ensures “that companies of all sizes can more seamlessly compete across the world.”
Centrist House Democrats support data privacy bill. Democratic House members in the New Democrat Coalition endorsed data privacy legislation sponsored by Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) that would allow consumers to opt-in to data collection by online platforms, and require companies to notify users about how their personal data will be shared.
Engine joins letter opposing Mexico’s digital economy proposal. Engine and eight tech advocacy organizations sent a letter to leading U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer, expressing concerns “regarding Mexico’s proposal to impose discriminatory requirements on the digital economy.” The proposal, found in Mexico’s 2020 budget package, could undermine U.S. investments in the country’s technology market.
Draft of online extremism bill receives pushback. Civil liberties groups have criticized draft legislation from Democrats on the Home Homeland Security Committee that would empower a panel of experts to study online platforms and recommend steps for Congress to take, saying it would violate First Amendment protections and allow the government to surveil vulnerable communities.
Startup Roundup:
#StartupsEverywhere throwback: Erie, Pennsylvania. Beth Zimmer, the managing director and co-founder of Innovation Collaborative, has worked tirelessly to turn the Erie ecosystem into a hub of startup activity.
