Facebook is well known for its dodgy practices with data, and it’s one of the biggest issues plaguing the launch of its cryptocurrency venture, Libra. During the Trump election campaign, Facebook was harvesting data and selling it to Cambridge Analytica who then used it to manipulate people’s views on Trump, leading him to win the election.
Facebook allegedly ended its data harvesting practices, but this week it admitted to collecting audio from its Messenger app and was sending it to 3rd parties for transcription. It’s still not clear what Facebook then did with these transcriptions, but it’s definitely a huge invasion of privacy sending it to a 3rd party – something that wasn’t included in the terms and conditions of Messenger’s audio harvesting policy.
What Does This Mean for Libra?
Ever since Libra was announced, it’s received a lot of flak and criticism from the world – including top tier politicians. Given Facebook’s rocky history with data, people are worried that Facebook will link their personal data to their financial data, then selling it to data analytic firms. If Facebook did this, then it would be the most hyper-targeted data set that ever existed on the planet, and could spell the end for privacy as we know it.
While Facebook has promised it stopped all data harvesting, every few months yet another scandal emerges. This audio collection scandal is the latest data scandal to come out of Facebook, and it could be the final nail in the coffin for Libra.
Libra is a Flat-Out Bad Idea
While some of Libra’s biggest supporters claim that it will allow the unbanked to finally have access to financial services, it could be the biggest catastrophe the world has ever seen. Companies are paying upwards of $10 million for the pleasure of running a node on the network, having the power to decline your transactions. Only 1/3 of the network need to agree that your transaction is a bad idea, and they can stop it dead in its tracks. For major corporations to have this power over your spending should be a human rights violation, and congress is trying its best to make sure that it never happens.
Facebook has proven once again that it can’t be trusted with our personal data as it continues to sell it to 3rd parties. If it manages to launch Libra and it then has access to your entire financial world, it’s likely that Facebook will carry on selling your data, but at a higher price.
