After record thefts of cryptos observed this year, government authorities are toughening their stance. In the United States, six senators have just written a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta. They demand that he provide clarification on the handling of crypto-related scams on his various social networks. The response deadline is October 24, 2022. The senators fear that Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp will become the breeding ground for scammers.
Social media crypto scam worries senators
the Play-to-Earn Axie Infinity recently made history. Indeed, he became the victim of the biggest hack of the century. That is almost 622 million dollars which is added to the more than 2 billion swindled during this year. Inevitably, governments do everything that is at their level and put the actors before their responsibilities. Thus, the senators of the American Democratic Party Robert Menendez, Elizabet Warren and four others sent a letter last Thursday to Mark Zuckerberg. In this joint letter, the CEO of Meta is summoned to explain himself about the “his company’s efforts to combat cryptocurrency scams on its social media.” The senators justify their action by recent cases of fraud perpetrated on social networks.
They worry about user safety. Elected officials refuse that social networks become fertile ground for scamming cryptos. Here is an excerpt from the joint letter sent to Meta: “While crypto scams are prevalent on social media, several Meta sites are particularly popular hunting grounds for scammers (…) Among consumers who reported being victims of a cryptocurrency scam on a website network, 32% identified the scam as coming from Instagram, 26% on Facebook and 9% on Whatsapp. “.
Meta CEO must answer seven questions by October 24
In the letter sent by the elected officials, there is in all seven questions to which the boss of Meta will have to respond. All boil down to current policies put in place by the American firm to limit the theft of cryptos on its platforms. The senators intend to continue with this pressure and Mark Zuckerber will have to respond by October 24.
Clearly, the senators want to know how Meta identifies crypto scammers and eliminates them. Beyond that, what are the arrangements made by the company for the support of users, their education on cryptos, etc.? Elected officials want to know the degree of collaboration of society with the authorities to combat this scourge. The question of the veracity of crypto advertisements on the networks is of interest to senators. They want to understand how advertisers publish ads on Meta platforms.
The 6 US senators know that scammers are using social media more to steal cryptos from investors. They join the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in combating the rise of crypto piracy on the web. Mark Zuckerberg has just over a month to prepare his answers.
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