Zuckerberg asked by senators what he is doing to fight crypto scams on social media

Quick Take

  • FTC data shows that 49% of cryptocurrency fraud reports specified scams originated on social media from Jan. 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022.
  • A letter from six Democratic senators requested detailed information in writing by Oct. 24 to a series of queries.

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg was asked in a letter from a group of Democratic senators what his company is doing to fight cryptocurrency scams on its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms.

Federal Trade Commission data shows that 49% of cryptocurrency fraud reports specified scams originated on social media from Jan. 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022, costing consumers about $417 million, the letter from six Senate Banking Committee members noted.

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

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The letter, dated Sept. 8, requested detailed information in writing by Oct. 24 to a series of queries, including Meta’s current policies for finding and removing crypto scammers from its social media platforms, procedures for verifying that crypto ads are not scams, policies for removing scammers from platforms, how Meta is cooperating with law enforcement to track down scammers and other issues.

In March, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said it was taking legal action against Meta, alleging that the company had misled Facebook users by publishing advertisements for crypto scams featuring local public figures who were unaware of the content.


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About Author

Mike Millard has worked as an editor for Bloomberg and Reuters, various newspapers and websites. He lived in Asia for more than two decades and now calls the Greek island of Corfu home. He is the author of three books.