Facebook’s Libra Faces EU Antitrust Investigation: Bloomberg

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc.’s proposed digital currency Libra faces an antitrust investigation by European Union regulators, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing a document the organization had access to.

The European Commission is “currently investigating potential anti-competitive behavior” related to Libra amid concerns that the proposed payments system will unfairly exclude competitors, the report said. (https://bloom.bg/2MtdtBd)

Libra is Facebook’s global cryptocurrency, scheduled for release in 2020.

According to Bloomberg, EU officials have expressed concerns that Libra could create “possible restrictions on competition” on information exchanged and the use of consumer data.

EU regulators are also examining possible integration of Libra-backed apps with Facebook services such as WhatsApp and Messenger, according to the report.

Last month, U.S. lawmakers pointed out that Facebook has failed to show it can be trusted to protect the global financial system and consumer data.

Facebook and a spokeswoman for the European Commission said they had no comment.

After this news, the company’s shares fell slightly, but recovered later in the day.

(Reporting by Ayanti Bera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)