Facebook, Instagram a ‘breeding ground’ for crypto scams, Democrats warn

In recent months, the Federal Trade Commission has reported that social media is increasingly becoming a prime target for scammers, especially those looking to cash in on the crypto craze sweeping the country.

In June, the agency released data showing that nearly half of people who reported losing money through a crypto scam since 2021 said it originated on a social media platform. “Reports point to social media and crypto as a combustible combination for fraud,” the agency wrote.

The agency said crypto was the most common form of payment for social media scams and that an increase in cases has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars lost to consumers.

The FTC noted that three of the four major platforms singled out in those cases were owned by Meta. Instagram was mentioned in 32 percent of reported crypto scams on social media, while Facebook and WhatsApp were mentioned 26 percent and 9 percent of the time, respectively.

“Based on recent reports of fraud on other social media platforms and applications, we are concerned that Meta provides a breeding ground for cryptocurrency fraud that causes significant harm to consumers. senators, led by Sen. Robert Menendez (DN.J.), wrote in a letter shared exclusively with The Technology 202.

The missive appeals to the director of Meta Mark Zuckerberg to detail by Oct. 24 the company’s policies on crypto fraud, what steps it takes to help victims of fraud and law enforcement follow-up, and whether the company takes any steps to proactively detect fraud.

The letter was signed by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Cory Booker (DN. J.).

“Deceptive ads violate our advertising policies and harm our business by negatively impacting people’s experiences,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement.

Stone added, “The people behind ad fraud use a variety of methods and channels to reach victims online, and we invest significant resources to detect and prevent fraud on our platforms.”

Lawmakers also asked the tech giant if it offers “warnings or educational materials about crypto scams in any language other than English.”

The topic is a major focus for the FTC’s newest commissioner, Alvaro Bedoya.

Bedoya said in his debut speech that “the platforms have repeatedly refused to answer questions from Congress about how many personnel they have hired to monitor for fraud in languages ​​other than English.” He added, “This is not right. That has to change.”

In his first media interview after arriving in FTC, Bedoya told me he plans to “do everything I can to try to get answers to questions about fraud” from tech companies.

A major obstacle to oversight, he said, is having enough staff fluent in other languages ​​who are able to track down cases of fraud and follow up with enforcement action when necessary.

“I’m trying to make sure that people can report fraud in the language in which they experienced it, in their primary language, that we can read it in that language, that we’re tracking the number of cases … where the underlying fraud or behavior was in a language other than English,” he said.

Diversifying the agency’s workforce is essential, Bedoya added.

“We have to do a lot better on this, and it can’t be where we have divisions where we don’t have investigators who are fluent in Spanish,” he said.

Menendez and other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have separately pressed Facebook and other tech companies about their efforts to curb misinformation in Spanish, including by asking for information on how many employees are dedicated to the cause. .

Journalism competition bill introduced after Senate fiasco

A bill to allow news outlets to band together to negotiate terms with online platforms was delayed indefinitely Thursday after Senate Republicans successfully amended it to target accusations of “censorship” of social media. Politics. Josh Sisco AND Brendan Bordelon report.

The Competition and Protection of Journalism Act, S.673, has drawn bipartisan support but has faced mixed criticism from consumer advocates who say it would have a chilling effect on content moderation and from conservatives who say it would allow collusion hidden from the media and technology companies. Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.), who co-sponsored the legislation, voted for the amendment, which passed 11-10.

“The deal we had has been blown up,” Sen said. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who co-sponsored the bill. She temporarily withdrew the bill from consideration.

White House announces principles for technology accountability

The Biden administration released the six principles after meeting with the DC Attorney General Carl A. Racine (D) and technology experts, the White House said in a statement. The principles cover competition, federal privacy rules, stronger protections for children online, removing protections for technology platforms like Section 230, increasing transparency about algorithms and content moderation, and banning algorithmic discrimination.

“These principles are the culmination of months of work by the administration and engagement with multiple stakeholders,” the White House press secretary said. Karine Jean-Pierre said. “We look forward to hearing any feedback from technology companies.”

Truth Social in oblivion as critical meeting of shareholders was delayed

Special-purpose buyout firm Digital World Acquisition postponed a key meeting by a month, ditching the former president’s top supporter Donald TrumpSocial media entrepreneurship in doubt, Drew Harwell reports. The company needs 65 percent of its shareholders to vote to extend the merger by one year, but not enough people voted.

“The Digital World Charter allows its executives another three-month extension after that, at a similar cost, to complete the deal,” Drew writes. “If the merger isn’t done by then, Digital World has said it could be forced into liquidation, returning all of its money to investors and leaving Trump’s job with nothing.”

Chief executives of major technology companies shared their admiration for Queen Elizabeth II. CEO of Apple Tim Cook:

CEO of Amazon Andy Jassy:

CEO of Google Sundar Pichai:

Facebook Parent Meta Platforms Cuts Responsible Innovation Team (The Wall Street Journal)

Twitter agreed to pay whistleblowers nearly $7 million in June settlement (The Wall Street Journal)

Google pays ‘huge’ sums to maintain search engine dominance, DOJ says (Bloomberg)

Musk says SpaceX discussed iPhone satellite service with Apple (Bloomberg)

Crypto Exchange Targets Treasury Sanctions in National Security Clash (Tory Newmyer)

Treasury to warn White House that crypto needs major regulations (Jeff Stein and Tory Newmyer)

Twitter experiences permanent outage after death of Queen Elizabeth II (Motherboard)

• Christel Schaldemosea member of the European Parliament who is the rapporteur for the Digital Services Act, discusses DSA at an event organized by the German Marshall Fund and Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs on Monday at noon.
• Whistleblower on Twitter Peter “Mudge” Zatko testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m
• FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks speaks at a Consumer Technology Association event Tuesday at 4 p.m
• Current and former executives at social media companies testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
• A panel of the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on protecting Americans’ personal information from foreign adversaries on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
• FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel speaks at the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Aerospace Summit on Wednesday.
• The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the XR Association host the Augmented and Virtual Reality Policy Conference on Wednesday.

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