Facebook appoints two more lobbyists, faces more resistance from American lawmakers

Facebook has recently hired two more lobbyists as the company is facing resistance from lawmakers to launch Libra. Facebook wants to advance its reach in Washington. Bloomberg reported that lobbyists William Hollier and Michael Williams are now trying to win the lawmakers with their influences. As per the reports, Hollier, who is the president of Hollier Associates LLC, started lobbying for Facebook on blockchain policy in late August. He has earlier worked for  Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), the head of the Senate Banking Committee, which held a hearing on the privacy concerns of Libra previously.

Earlier, Facebook had hired Susan Zook, a former aide of Senator Crapo, to push for Libra in the Capitol Hill. Williams Group’s Michael Williams started lobbying for the company in mid-July. Besides Facebook, he also lobbies for the American Financial Services Association and Delta Air Lines Inc. 

Facebook is determined to launch its cryptocurrency within mid-2020, which is its set deadline. Furthermore, the company also appointed four other lobby groups in the past couple of months to influence blockchain policymaking.

American political journalism company Politico reported that Facebook already used up $7.5 million on its Washington lobby groups this year. The company is now working with at least seven lobbyists for Libra including Sternhell Group, the Cypress Group, and the law firm Davis Polk.

Previously, numerous lawmakers in the US had requested Facebook to suspend the development of its crypto project until the regulatory issues are fixed. Meanwhile, in Europe, the social media company is facing an antitrust probe for its plans to jump in the payments sector with Libra.