Senators questioned Zuckerberg on his efforts to combat social media crypto-scams

In a letter, Democratic senators asked Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, what his business is doing to combat cryptocurrency frauds on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Six members of the Senate Banking Committee noted in a letter that data from the Federal Trade Commission indicates that, between January 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, 49% of cryptocurrency fraud reports identified social media as the origin of the scams, which cost consumers approximately $417 million.

The senators were headed by New Jersey’s Bob Menendez and included Ohio’s Sherrod Brown, Massachusetts’ Elizabeth Warren, California’s Dianne Feinstein, Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, and New Jersey’s Cory Booker.

The letter, dated September 8, requested thorough written responses by October 24 to a number of questions, including Meta’s existing rules for locating and removing crypto fraudsters from its social media platforms, methods for confirming that crypto advertising is not scams, policies for removing scammers from platforms, and how Meta is collaborating with law enforcement to hunt down scammers, among others.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said in March that it will pursue legal action against Meta, stating that the firm had deceived Facebook users by posting adverts for cryptocurrency schemes portraying local prominent personalities who were ignorant of the content.

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