Andy Yen, the CEO and founder of the encrypted email service ProtonMail recently warned against the privacy issues relating to Mark Zuckerberg’s digital “metaverse.” Yen didn’t hold back, saying: “Facebook talks about privacy because it’s a PR issue for them. At the end of the day, their business model revolves on taking your data and monetizing it. So there is fundamentally always going to be a conflict between what they say and what they actually have to do to make money.”
Newsweek reports that Andy Yen, the CEO and founder of the encrypted email service ProtonMail, recently warned against trusting Mark Zuckerberg’s new “metaverse.” Zuckerberg has previously stated that “Privacy and safety need to be built into the metaverse from day one,” but Yen is skeptical.
Speaking to Newsweek at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, Yen stated: “Facebook talks about privacy because it’s a PR issue for them. At the end of the day, their business model revolves on taking your data and monetizing it. So there is fundamentally always going to be a conflict between what they say and what they actually have to do to make money.” Yen added: “There’s no way to ever get around their conflict unless they change their business model, and they’re not going to do that.”
Speaking about the metaverse, Yen stated that he thinks the idea is “worthy of mockery in some aspects,” but warned that the privacy issues relating to the platform should be taken seriously. “But it’s also insidious in many ways. What is Facebook actually doing? What is the purpose? Facebook’s issue today is they don’t control their destiny,” Yen said.
“They depend on other platforms, other devices to reach their customers, whether it’s iPhone, the Chrome browser, Google Search, whatever it may be,” he continued: “What they’re doing with the metaverse is really they’re building a new infrastructure where they control everything. They control the device, they have the VR headsets, you’re now in their world, on their devices, on their platform.”
Breitbart News has reported extensively on Zuckerberg’s plan to create a single walled garden for users.
As Breitbart reported in July:
Bosworth noted that there is “a lot of work to be done to bridge these worlds that will ultimately form part of the Metaverse,” and that he looks forward to seeing what this new group can accomplish.
From initial descriptions, it seems as if the Metaverse is focusing heavily on seamless communications and interaction between users worldwide combining existing Facebook products and services like Oculus VR and Facebook Gaming. Mark Zuckerberg and his company have their sights set far beyond current internet technology.
Read more at Newsweek here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com