Following the recent announcement that Facebook intends to launch a cryptocurrency called Libra,

Laura Petrone, Senior Analyst, Thematic Research at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view on the data privacy concerns around this move:

‘‘Following the intense scrutiny over data collection, the Libra project and Facebook’s relationship with Calibra, the separate entity that will manage its digital wallet services, brings Facebook’s future management of user information and data privacy back into focus.

‘‘Data privacy is one of the most important themes impacting industry and there is growing concern on how Facebook will obtain account holders consent for data-sharing with Calibra, given the company’s poor record around the collection and use of personal data for advertising.

‘’This, and the cross-selling of user data which Facebook hasn’t ruled out, show that the social media giant is prepared to further expand its ad-funded business model despite this being inherently detrimental to data privacy and one of the greatest concerns for both regulators and consumers.

‘’Facebook’s entry into the digital financial services space shows that it has no fear of further scrutiny over ‘data privacy’, and will certainly see regulators coming down even harder upon it.’’