An investigation in to Facebook's Libra crypto currency

Introduction

As you may or may not know, Facebook has released a crypto currency called Libra. because of Facebook's track record in the field of protecting personal data, I have decided to conduct an investigation in to the platform

How I investigated

Well, this project is open source and available on Github. So I looked at the source code as part of my investigation. I also looked at the white paper and other technical documents available on libra.org.

what is the "mission"?

according to the white paper it is:

1. It is built on a secure, scalable, and reliable blockchain;
2. It is backed by a reserve of assets designed to give it intrinsic value;
3. It is governed by the independent Libra Association tasked with evolving the ecosystem.

That is interesting because it imply's that Facebook does not have any control.

How is Facebook involved?

To help answer here is another quote about the Libra Association:

The Libra Association is an independent, not-for-profit membership organization, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

This also seems to state that Facebook is not involve. But the list of members has Facebook listed, so I investigated that and found these quotes and conclusions:
The part of Facebook listed on the list of member is called Facebook Calibra. Here is what Facebook's blog says:

Today we’re sharing plans for Calibra, a newly formed Facebook subsidiary whose goal is to provide financial services that will let people access and participate in the Libra network. The first product Calibra will introduce is a digital wallet for Libra, a new global currency powered by blockchain technology. The wallet will be available in Messenger, WhatsApp and as a standalone app — and we expect to launch in 2020.

it seems to be a Apple pay like app for Libra. But will it track you? here is more from the Facebook blog:

We’ll also take steps to protect your privacy. Aside from limited cases, Calibra will not share account information or financial data with Facebook or any third party without customer consent. This means Calibra customers’ account information and financial data will not be used to improve ad targeting on the Facebook family of products. The limited cases where this data may be shared reflect our need to keep people safe, comply with the law and provide basic functionality to the people who use Calibra. Calibra will use Facebook data to comply with the law, secure customers’ accounts, mitigate risk and prevent criminal activity. You can read more about our commitments to privacy and consumer protection here.

Two phrase in that paragraph make me nervous:

1. "aside from limited cases"
2. "customer consent"

The first because it imply that any government can ask for info on you and because its world wide I mean ANY government.

The latter because a lot of times "customer consent" is hitting that "I agree" button.

The last sentence of the article makes me also nervous

We undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

So they can just change their mind.

What about the other members?

here is the current list of members: (they hope to have more than 100 by 2020)

• Payments: Mastercard, PayPal, PayU (Naspers’ fintech arm), Stripe, Visa
• Technology and marketplaces: Booking Holdings, eBay, Facebook/Calibra, Farfetch, Lyft,
Mercado Pago, Spotify AB, Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Telecommunications: Iliad, Vodafone Group
• Blockchain: Anchorage, Bison Trails, Coinbase, Inc., Xapo Holdings Limited
• Venture Capital: Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Initiatives, Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital,
Union Square Ventures
• Nonprofit and multilateral organizations, and academic institutions: Creative Destruction Lab, Kiva,
Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking

There is no info I have seen to do with whether or not any of these organizations have access to data. For example maybe eBay can see what your buying and sell adds or heck sell sensitive info.

Is there an upside?

Yes, it appears to be a very stable currency

Libra is designed to be a stable digital cryptocurrency that will be fully backed by a reserve of real assets — the
Libra Reserve — and supported by a competitive network of exchanges buying and selling Libra.

should you use it?

Not now, It is not in operation at this moment. if i see any changes I will write a follow up post.

Thank you for reading!

please voice opinions in the commits.