According to a new survey, very few citizens – less than three percent – trust Libra enough to try it out for payments.
Nobody Trusts Libra!
Libra is the cryptocurrency being developed by Facebook. The social media conglomerate is making its way into the financial payment space with a new digital currency that it says is designed to bring financial services to the unbanked.
Facebook’s intentions may sound noble, but the company has been swamped with controversy for the past several years, and many people are not willing to take a chance that their financial information will wind up in the wrong hands. In 2018, data emerged that suggested Facebook had been selling users’ private data to Cambridge Analytica for advertising purposes. This got everyone on edge, and Mark Zuckerberg – the head honcho of the social media company – was grilled by Senate members on live television.
Following that hearing, trust in Facebook seemingly dropped more than 60 percent, yet many people seemed reluctant to outright delete their accounts. From there, Zuckerberg announced that the company would focus more on privacy for its users, and it would try to avoid the mistakes of the past.
Then, Libra came along. The currency caused a firestorm (again) in the U.S. Congress, with many members requesting that Facebook postpone its plans until all necessary questions could be answered. David Marcus – the head of Facebook’s blockchain division and the primary developer behind Libra – ultimately gave in to congressional demands that Libra be put on hold for the next two years, though it’s hard to believe that a two-year delay will cause everyone to forget about what’s already happened.
What will Facebook do with its customers’ financial data? Many are wondering, while several others aren’t willing to take any chances. The survey – which was conducted by the messaging application Viper – asked over 2,000 people in both the United States and the United Kingdom if they would ever fancy giving Libra a try. Roughly 50 percent said they wouldn’t touch Libra with a ten-foot pole, and only three percent said they would be willing to try out its payment system.
What Will Facebook Do Without Potential Users?
These are staggering numbers and suggests that trust for Facebook has seemingly remained the same over the last 12 months. However, it’s important to note that Viper is a direct competitor of Facebook’s messaging platform WhatsApp, the system for which users will be able to utilize Libra to pay for goods and services.
Interestingly, the survey also shows that women are far less likely to trust Facebook or Libra than men, while generation Z is allegedly the most trusting. Approximately 2.7 percent of gen Z members surveyed said they’d be willing to try Libra and are not as concerned about the security of their data.
