Libra, Facebook’s attempt to get into cryptocurrency, has suffered a number of setbacks. On Wired, European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski highlighted the privacy issues with the project.
In the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Directive guarantee privacy and personal data protection as fundamental rights for every individual. There can be no doubt that Libra would be subject to these laws. It is clear that payment and transaction data convey a lot of information about the user, facilitating profiling. The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) mainly examines potential data-sharing that may be triggered by Libra facilities on a previously unseen scale. Even if sharing would be conditional on user consent, the long-term implications may be the further loss of control over data.
Check It Out: The Privacy Problems Around Facebook’s Libra Currency
Charlotte:
Not to be unkind, but the idea of commingling FB with cryptocurrency, together with its requisites of privacy and security, is almost as good as that of commingling a volatile substance and an open flame in a closed environment. With people in it.
FB’s track record on privacy and security does not inspire confidence in any outcome other than that of a cluster-flop on a bullet train.