Libra, Facebook's recently announced crypto-currency, which is due to be launched in 2020 (see EUROPE 12277/24), is already worrying Giovanni Buttarelli, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).
In an interview with Business Insider Germany on Tuesday 18 June, the EDPS stressed that “any further concentration of personal data poses additional risks to the rights and freedoms of individuals” and stated that the new cryptocurrency will require “careful scrutiny from several enforcement agencies, including data protection authorities”.
He warned that “it would be deeply concerning, for example, for a company with access to massive volumes of personal information, gathered through its social media platforms and communications services, to be able to combine this information with the tracking of online digital purchases”.
Instant online shopping and transactions between social network users will be processed via Calibra, a digital wallet within Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook gave further assurances that Calibra will not share users' account information with third parties without their consent and that Calibra customers' financial data will not be used for targeted advertising on Facebook. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)