Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance before the US Congress, supposedly to answer questions about his intentions regarding the launch of his digital currency, Libra, ended up being an intense and fundamentally hostile inquisitorial session about the whole Facebook and the problems it poses for the country’s democracy, leaving Congress members as worried or more so than before. Fortunately, on this occasion, members had done their homework: the questions they asked the founder of the company made sense rather than showing their ignorance.
Most analysts say Facebook’s chances of getting Libra off the ground now look like a Facebook relationship status: “it’s complicated”: according to the company, the launch will now be delayed until all regulatory problems are resolved.
Is Libra a good idea? It could be. It’s clear that money is going digital and that this could help address many issues. But the idea of privatized money being carried out by an irresponsible company with a blatant disregard for privacy should set off alarm bells, making almost any other alternative sound like a good idea. Contrary to what Mark Zuckerberg says, Libra will not reinforce US global financial leadership, and with Facebook behind it, is a guaranteed disaster. What will happen when Facebook, as it has happened on numerous occasions, allows the financial information of Libra users to fall into the hands of criminals…
