It seems to me that the fundamental problem Facebook is dealing with is that it's one thing for a start up to create a product that basically flouts regulations

It seems to me that the fundamental problem Facebook is dealing with is that it's one thing for a start up to create a product that basically flouts regulations but makes a great product. It's quite another thing to be a company the size of facebook and release a whitepaper saying "Hey guys! Let's flout regulations!". It's a flaw in our current regulatory regime that companies that perform egregious exploitative practices in their infancy essentially grow out of accountability. But thinking you can use the same trick as an established company is nuts. After they announced they were informed by governments that that won't be happening. So what we have left is they're committed to the idea because they announced it, but all the "frictionless" part is gone and they're going to have the KYC and money laundering checks as everyone else. Their only advantage is their existing customer base in an unrelated market - or to put it another way, can they illegally leverage their monopoly in social media to enter a new market. Great.