Fear of Facebook Inc.'s Libra initiative proved to be common ground for global finance chiefs as they met to discuss more contentious issues, from digital taxation to the economic outlook, on Wednesday.
"Libra is on everyone's mind," German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told reporters at the gathering of Group of Seven (G7) counterparts near Paris. Bruno Le Maire, his French counterpart and host, said that a private company shouldn't "have the possibility to create a sovereign currency."
The remarks at the Chateau de Chantilly reveal the extent of the international backlash building against the proposed digital currency, just as U.S. lawmakers join the bandwagon of criticism against Facebook in congressional hearings this week.