Less than a day after being announced, Facebook Inc.’s Libra cryptocurrency has already sparked a backlash as critics that include prominent politicians on both sides the Atlantic raised concerns and called for its rollout to be delayed or even stopped.

In the U.S., politicians on both sides of the aisle expressed concerns about the announcement. Democratic House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (pictured) led the backlash, calling on Facebook to halt its plans for Libra until Congress and regulators have had a chance to investigate it.

Citing a disregard for the protection and careful use of data relating to its members, Waters said in a statement that “with the announcement that it plans to create a cryptocurrency, Facebook is continuing its unchecked expansion and extending its reach into the lives of its users. The cryptocurrency market currently lacks a clear regulatory framework to provide strong protections for investors, consumers, and the economy.”

The concern was shared by North Carolina’s Patrick McHenry, the leading Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee. He wrote in support of a hearing into Libra, saying that “we know there are many open questions as to the scope and scale of the project and how it will conform to our global financial regulatory framework.”

Senate Banking Committee ranking member Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, also spoke out against Libra, writing on Twitter that “Facebook is already too big and too powerful, and it has used that power to exploit users’ data without protecting their privacy. We cannot allow Facebook to run a risky new cryptocurrency out of a Swiss bank account without oversight.”

Across the pond, criticism of Libra was led by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who among other things said that “it is out of [the] question’’ that Libra “become a sovereign currency,’’ and that “it can’t and it must not happen.”

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney was slightly more reserved, telling a meeting of the European Central Bank that “anything that works in this world will become instantly systemic and will have to be subject to the highest standards of regulation.”

The current status of the Libra Foundation, the body established by Facebook in Switzerland to manage the cryptocurrency, may also be in question. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority said that it was in contact with the foundation but didn’t provide any further details.

Critics of Libra were not restricted to government alone. Some in the tech community also highly critical.

Christian Lanng, CEO of the supply-chain payment network Tradeshift Inc., told SiliconANGLE that putting aside regulatory issues, Libra has no future, calling it 100% vaporware.

“I give Facebook zero chance to succeed with a coin,” Lanng said. “Facebook has already failed with payments for Messenger, which went nowhere. You’re essentially taking a business proposition that has already failed and adding cryptocurrency. You’re just adding complexity and something users don’t understand. I don’t see that as a strategy for success.”

Ryan Taylor, CEO of digital money rival Dash, compared Libra to MCX, a payment system launched by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2012 that subsequently failed. Ryan thinks Libra is nothing more tan a “side hustle” for Facebook and the only reason big players such as Visa and PayPal are on board is to keep an eye on a potential competitor.

Photo: mark6mauno/Flickr