The big picture: Facebook’s operations as a quasi-state span realms such as …

1. Speech: Facebook’s mission of connecting people and giving them a voice, combined with its global reach and billion of users, means that it is constantly making decisions about who can say what.

The company has moved forward with plans to invent a “Supreme Court”-like independent content moderation appeals board.

But in the meantime its evolving rules, particularly around political speech and advertising, have left a wake of confusion and consternation.

2. Money: Earlier this year, Facebook announced with great fanfare that it was launching its own global cryptocurrency, called Libra.

But the plans for Libra have quickly run into a regulatory sawmill, and key financial partners have bailed on the project.