A group of six U.S. senators have expressed concern that Meta-owned social media has become a fertile medium for the spread of cryptocurrency scams.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in the first quarter of 2022 alone, about 49% of all reports of fraudulent cryptocurrency projects were posted on social networks owned by Meta. Participation in “investment scams” with cryptocurrencies led to users losing more than $400 million. Survey data among the victims showed that 32% experienced fraud on Instagram, 26% on Facebook and 9% on WhatsApp.
The senators have asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for a report on measures to combat cryptocurrency fraud. In a letter to Zuckerberg, the senators recalled that the company had previously acknowledged the potential presence of cryptocurrency scammers on its social media platforms and understands the risks to users associated with this type of content.
In January 2018, Meta, formerly known as Facebook, banned the advertising of cryptocurrencies, stating that “there are many companies promoting ICOs and cryptocurrencies that are operating in bad faith.” However, it appears that these measures were not enough. The Senators are asking Zuckerberg to provide detailed information on anti-fraud measures on the Meta social media platforms for review by October 24.
In particular, the senators are interested in the company’s policy to actively identify and block the accounts of cryptocurrency fraudsters, the procedures for verifying the accuracy of reports of cryptocurrency projects, informing users about the risk of cryptocurrency fraud, as well as the degree of cooperation with law enforcement agencies.
Recall that earlier Meta, as part of the globalization program for the collection tokens market, integrated NFT into its social networks Facebook and Instagram.
Source: Bits
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