Facebook’s Libra Feeling the heat as Global Regulators Warn of Privacy Concerns

Global privacy regulators have joined forces to raise concerns about the privacy threats posed by Facebook’s cryptocurrency, Libra. Facebook’s Libra feeling the heat as Global Regulators warn of privacy concerns. Globalxchange.

A joint statement was published by the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and concerns were shared by information protection officers from:

Australia

Albania

Burkina Faso

Canada

The EU

The United Kingdom

The United States

Globalxchange. “While Facebook and Calibra have made broad public statements about privacy, they have failed to specifically address the information handling practices that will be in place to secure and protect personal information.”

A list of questions were posed by the Data Protection Commissioners. They expect Facebook to respond to these concerns, including that the Libra Network provide clear information to customers on how project participants will use their data and how the default privacy settings will be ensured.

The group further seeks reassurance that Facebook will use “only the minimum amount” of personal data as required for the service, and “ensure the legality of the processing.“

Globalexchange. The expectation is that Facebook ensure all personal data is adequately protected, and provide users with people simple instructions in:

“exercising their privacy rights, deleting their accounts, and honoring their requests in a timely way.”

Facebook replied that for its scheduled cryptocurrency, it would not have access to any personal financial data collected. However, the blockchain lead of the company, David Marcus, accepted that third parties will probably build products like Libra wallets.

Globalexchange. The third parties would be liable for the development of their Libra wallets, Marcus said. Adding, “it will be the responsibility of these providers to determine the type of information they may require from their customers and to comply with regulations and standards in the countries in which they operate.”

Elizabeth Denham, U.K. Information Commissioner, said In the release of the joint privacy statement:

“I hope this statement will prompt an open and constructive conversation to ensure that data protection is a key part of the design process and that data protection regulators are a key consultative group as the Libra proposals develop.” Global exchange.