It used to be "Nobody on the Internet knows you are a dog." Now they not only know I am a dog, but they know my favorite dog food, my problem with fleas, what kind of collar I wear, who I howl

I can't see any evidence to support what you are saying. XEM is open source. Of course, private companies can build on an open source blockchain. Regarding the developer Makoto Takemiya, I can't say that