On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the House Financial Services Committee on Capitol Hill. The subject was Facebook’s finance sector, and specifically their plan for a new global cryptocurrency, known as Libra, that would be run entirely through Facebook. Lawmakers from both parties came together over their skepticism of the system, which would see Facebook and partner corporations in charge of their own currency beyond the control of any government. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, designed at their core to have no central regulating authority and thus to be independent…
After months of investigation into misuse of user data, the Federal Trade Commission announced it would fine Facebook the sum of $5 billion on Friday. The result of the announcement, however, was an increase in the company’s value. Facebook’s stock hit its highest price in nearly a year by the end of the trading day on which the fine was announced. With Facebook having annual profits of $22 billion to its name, the amount of the fine has been decried as a slap on the wrist after repeated privacy violations.…