Should We Even Need to Verify Our Identities to Use Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency?

The cryptocurrency world has been buzzing over Facebook’s announcement of the Libra. An official whitepaper was rolled out yesterday, as well. It’s become clear, however, that everyone who wants to use Libra will have to be subject to basic KYC. That means that a government-issued identity is required — which will then be verified by Facebook. All the funds you send via Libra may be tracked and linked to your identity. It’s something we all expected since it’s necessary for Facebook to be legally compliant. Nonetheless, it’s been the butt of some jokes, like this one from Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao:

Facebook Libra coin don't need KYC. They have so much more data on the 2 billion people. Not just name, id, address, phone number. They know your family, friends, real-time/historic location, what you like… They know you more than yourself. And now your wallet too. Best AML!

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) June 18, 2019

Zhao may be joking, but he’s actually spot on. Facebook already does have data on more than two billion people. It possesses databases of names, addresses, and phone numbers. It knows who we talk to and how often. It even has our location information and our preferences. Therefore, what more could Facebook learn by ‘verifying’ our identities? If anything, Libra’s KYC is the final step in Facebook formalizing data on every person in the world. Facebook, having all the data they need on us, can now link it to a legitimate ID. Facebook has (naturally) made no commitments to privacy with the new Libra cryptocurrency — and it’s not planning on changing anytime soon. It’s inevitable that information collected via Libra will be used by authorities, advertisers, and algorithms. That’s what we give up when we use Libra. The social media giant has been at the heart of so many controversies in the past few years, from Cambridge Analytica to outsourcing to workers who tag our photos for “AI algorithms.” Libra is arguably one more step in this technocratic vision where privacy is not an option. It’s no surprise then that so many other tech conglomerates are being onboarded to run these nodes. Will you be using Libra despite its strict KYC measures? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.