Facebook patent offers options for assessing credit applications

Facebook was granted a patent on Tuesday from which it can be concluded that the social network wants to determine the creditworthiness of users based on their contacts. This could have consequences for taking out a loan.

The bottom line is that Facebook uses the status of contacts to see if someone is creditworthy or not. The patent covers not only checking creditworthiness, but also preventing spam, assigning what will or will not be found when entering a search term and whether or not a third-party content provider can send information to an individual. application.

Facebook didn’t come up with the patent itself; it comes from Friendster’s patent portfolio. Facebook bought this portfolio in 2010 for about $40 million. The granting of the patent was first observed by SmartUp Legal. Fortune does state that it’s unclear whether Facebook will ever adopt it, as it often happens that companies submit more than they end up using. If it is applied, it could have far-reaching implications for people who have the ‘wrong’ friends.

The method can also be used the other way around; lenders who are not so strict with the rules can easily offer rogue loans to vulnerable groups. Business magazine Fortune has not yet been able to extract a response from the patent holder or original applicant.