Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Vodacom’s Maziv deal gets makeover ahead of crucial hearing

      18 July 2025

      Cut electricity prices for data centres: Andile Ngcaba

      18 July 2025

      Takealot taps Mr D to deliver toys, pet food and future growth

      18 July 2025

      ‘Oh, Ani!’: Elon’s edgy bot stirs ethical storm

      18 July 2025

      Trump U-turn on Nvidia spurs talk of grand bargain with China

      18 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Cryptocurrencies » Facebook’s libra gets EU antitrust scrutiny before it’s even launched

    Facebook’s libra gets EU antitrust scrutiny before it’s even launched

    By Agency Staff21 August 2019
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    European Union antitrust regulators are already probing Facebook s two-month-old libra digital currency project, according to a document seen by Bloomberg.

    The European Commission is “currently investigating potential anticompetitive behavior” related to the Libra Association amid concerns the proposed payment system would unfairly shut out rivals, the EU authority said in a questionnaire sent out earlier this month.

    Officials said they’re concerned about how libra may create “possible competition restrictions” on the information that will be exchanged and the use of consumer data, according to the document, which is a standard part of an early-stage EU inquiry to gather information.

    Libra represents a potential challenge that the guardians of money have never faced: a global currency they neither control nor manage

    The investigation into founder Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitions to take on traditional cash adds to another preliminary EU investigation into how Facebook may unfairly use its power to squeeze rival apps. The Brussels-based commission, Europe’s most feared regulator, has already targeted Google and Apple.

    Facebook and the commission both declined to comment on the investigation. The Menlo Park, California-based company has previously promised to appease all regulators before launching the cryptocurrency, a process that could take some time.

    Led by a social network with more users than the combined population of China and the US, libra represents a potential challenge that the guardians of money have never faced: a global currency they neither control nor manage.

    Integration

    The EU questionnaire said regulators are also examining the possible integration of libra-backed applications into Facebook services such as WhatsApp and Messenger. It said their investigation focuses on the governance structure and membership of the Libra Association.

    Facebook has previously promised to appease all regulators before launching the cryptocurrency, a process that could take some time.

    Visa declined to comment while the Libra Association representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Mastercard had no immediate comment.

    Aside from the antitrust division, other EU regulators are “monitoring market developments in the area of crypto assets and payment services, including libra and its development”, a spokesman for the commission’s financial services department said.

    Data protection supervisors are also worried about how libra will share information. They said earlier this month that Facebook had the potential to combine “vast reserves of personal information with financial information and cryptocurrency, amplifying privacy concerns about the network’s design and data-sharing arrangements”.  — Reported by Lydia Beyoud and Aoife White, with assistance from Alexander Weber, Alastair Marsh and James Hertling



    Facebook Libra Libra Association
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleCloud giants face threat from the edge
    Next Article Cost of hydrogen from renewables to plummet

    Related Posts

    Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

    4 June 2025

    Silicon slip-ups: the tech industry’s biggest flops

    29 May 2025

    Now Facebook wants to … scan your face

    16 May 2025
    Company News

    Vertiv to acquire custom rack solutions manufacturer

    18 July 2025

    SA businesses embrace gen AI – but strategy and skills are lagging

    17 July 2025

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.