The Zuckerberg rises

Facebook offers you cryptocurrency?

BANG FOR YOUR ZUCK? Facebook unveils ‘its most invasive and dangerous form of surveillance yet’ with launch of Libra cryptocurrency

Experts have branded the move a dangerous power grab that marks Facebook's "most invasive" form of surveillance yet.

So far, Facebook has enlisted 28 firms, including Spotify and Uber, who each had to invest a minimum of £8million to be a founding member of the Libra Association, an independent not-for-profit membership organisation.

It wants to attract 100 businesses in time for launch, which it is aiming for the first half of 2020.

And the shepherd calls the sheep, and they come. Did they know it was the Wolf that was calling? " I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down". (yes, a mixed metaphor sheep/pigs - sue me. heh!.)

Not good enuf? "Yes my dears, thank you for visiting my humble shack in the woods." Yum...

When you're still kinda young, kinda geeky looking and have billions of dollars, the world is your oyster.

Are we the only ones that see what is happening?

I really am at a loss as to how this country and its citizens have lost the capability for critical thinking...

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

FB or any other major company power over me, including personal information and the power to approve/disapprove of financial transactions, beyond the banks I must now use. And Zuck has a track record of caving to gov't power, not resisting it, in ways that trample on individual rights in order to preserve his company's good political standing.

Of course, FB is so large and deeply penetrated worldwide, there will likely be many takers for this Libra so it might become successful.

According to the tech experts whose comments I've seen, this FBC Libra will mostly compete with non-Bitcoin alt-coins, Visa, PayPal and WUnion. BTC will either not be affected or be enhanced by Libra. Which is good, if true, as I am heavily invested in BTC and am hoping for major gains in the next year or two.

up
0 users have voted.
Roy Blakeley's picture

@wokkamile As announced, its value will be pegged to the mean of a basket of fiat currencies. This would make it much more useful for financial transactions in the current economic environment than Bitcoin. It would not be very useful as a speculative investment (except, perhaps, as a hedge against the devaluation of a particular fiat currency). Bitcoin was initially useful for financial transactions but the fact that it was not pegged to fiat currencies has mutated it into mainly a speculative investment.

up
0 users have voted.

@Roy Blakeley to be totally independent from government and its fiat, which on average have a lifespan of about 28 years historically. It's one of Bitcoin's great strengths. The FB currency must depend on the validity and value of numerous fiats -- good luck with that, if the FB program ever gets widespread acceptance.

Meanwhile BTC is growing in strength, not just as a speculative item, and in the near future will increasingly become accepted as a means of exchange by large and small institutions and businesses as well as individuals, due to its increasing stability and transaction speed and efficiency.

It won't entirely replace big banks, but will put a major dent in their business -- a very positive development for society -- as we look forward in the next decade. It's the wave of the future in money, a perfect complement to the internet, and so much easier to invest in and exchange than gold. An unstoppable force.

Big hopes here for the next year. The current under-10k price will look cheap by this time in 2020.

But if I'm wrong, you might see me serving your favorite coffee drinks at the local Starbucks, if I could find one that hires people over-50 ...

up
0 users have voted.
Alligator Ed's picture

Yes, I will partner with multiple companies in order to "regulate hate speech". I would also steal obtain all your personal data and sell it to telemarketers to call people at hours of day and night. Of course the CIA will be a silent partner in this endeavor. Boy, I cannot wait until Gina Haspel gets a seat of the Facebook board of directors. And, hey, what's wrong with oysters? I eat them shell and all. Sometimes the shiny little stones in their innards give me hiccups but that's a chance I am willing to take.

up
0 users have voted.
EdMass's picture

@Alligator Ed

up
0 users have voted.

Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!

in the year 2219. Thus ending the bipolar dynasty that had misruled the planet and duopolized its economy for almost two centuries.

up
0 users have voted.
dystopian's picture

Are we the only ones that see what is happening?

I really am at a loss as to how this country and its citizens have lost the capability for critical thinking...

At least there are some of us EM! I am sure there are many more in different circles/venues.

But dang it is scary how stupid stupid got. How blindly tribal. It is hard to comprehend for those of us that did learn critical thinking. I am afraid the masses simply took and take, their cues from TV. We can choose which line of propaganda we want. So much freedom.

up
0 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein