  The announcement by Facebook that Libra will "deliver on the promise of 'the
internet of money'" has drawn the attention of the financial world. Regulators,
institutions, and users of financial products have all been prompted to react
and, so far, no one managed to convince the association behind Libra to apply
the brakes or to convince regulators to stop the project altogether. In this
article, we propose that Libra might be best seen not as a financial newcomer,
but as a critical enabler for Facebook to acquire a new source of personal
data. By working with financial regulators seeking to address concerns with
money laundering and terrorism, Facebook can position itself for privileged
access to high-assurance digital identity information. For this reason, Libra
merits the attention of not only financial regulators, but also the state
actors that are concerned with reputational risks, the rule of law, public
safety, and national defence.
