City
Epaper

Facebook's digital coin frightening: Co-founder

By IANS | Published: June 22, 2019 11:04 AM

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, who initiated the call to break up the social networking giant, has termed the new digital currency Libra "frightening".

Open in App

In a series of tweets, Hughes said Libra has a long way to go before being successful, but in theory, it's "brilliant and frightening".

"At the start of the week, I thought the problem would be that it would reinforce Facebook's corporate power.

"Now, a few days out, I think the problem is different and bigger: a new layer of monetary control between central banks and individuals, mediated by corporations," he tweeted on Friday.

What Libra backers are calling "decentralisation" is in truth a shift of power away from developing world central banks and toward multinational corporations and the central banks of the largest economies, he further tweeted.

Earlier, in an opinion piece in The Financial Times, Hughes said that if even modestly successful, "Libra would hand over much of the control of monetary policy from central banks to these private companies, which also include Visa, Uber, and Vodafone".

"If global regulators don't act now, it could very soon be too late," he warned.

Hughes called on regulators globally to approach the Facebook move with "exhaustive" scrutiny.

"This time, the scrutiny by the appropriate government regulators should be nothing short of exhaustive," he wrote.

In May, Hughes wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times, saying it is time to break up Facebook mired in several data scandals and privacy violation cases as Mark Zuckerberg has yielded "unchecked power" and influence "far beyond that of anyone else in the private sector or in government".

The call triggered a wave of demands from the US lawmakers and regulators to break up Facebook.

The move to launch 'Libra' comes at a time when Facebook is under intense pressure from regulators, shareholders and users to address privacy shortcomings.

The social networking giant with over two billion users globally is facing regulatory challenges as the Cambridge Analytica scandal has exposed its lapses of data privacy and security.

"Many will say these fears are overblown: it's not clear if Libra will even get off the ground. But if we've learnt anything about Facebook, it's that we should not underestimate its power to transform how people interact," said Hughes.

"The company's decision to offer live broadcasting made it possible for teenagers to stream bullying, terrorists to livecast an execution and a gunman a mass shooting," the Facebook co-founder added.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: hughesLibraThe Financial TimesNew York TimesMark Zuckerberg
Open in App

Related Stories

TechnologyFacebook, Instagram Down: Meta-Owned Apps Not Loading for Users

TechnologyMeta Quest 3 Is Better than Apple's Vision Pro, Says Mark Zuckerberg in His Verdict - WATCH

TechnologyFacebook Turns 20, Instagram Sends Heartfelt Message to Zuckerberg: 'Love You Dad'

InternationalMeta CEO Mark Zuckerberg building $270 million underground bunker in Hawaii: Report

TechnologyMeta to release commercial AI model like ChatGPT, Bard

कारोबार Realted Stories

BusinessMeitY's unveils indigenous innovations in transportation with ITS booklet launch, thermal camera transfer

BusinessRBI imposes monetary penalty on Satara Sahakari Bank Limited

BusinessApple gives small developers a breather around new app store fee in EU

BusinessAdani Green secures USD 400 mn from international banks for 750 MW power projects

BusinessCAG of India, Auditor General of Nepal sign MoU to enhance collaboration in auditing