Top Democrat Maxine Waters questions Mark Zuckerberg about Meta’s digital asset plans.
Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, said she wanted answers from Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, amid concerns that its digital asset plans could come under renewed scrutiny.
California Democrats sent the following letter: letter On Monday, it expressed concerns to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Javier Olivan about five trademark applications related to digital assets filed by the company over the past year.
These applications were intended for projects including “online social networking and dating” services that allow for the exchange of digital currencies, computer hardware and software design related to blockchain, and “currency trading of cryptocurrencies and other forms of virtual currencies.” Yes.
Waters has been critical of Meta’s foray into cryptocurrency, particularly its Libra stablecoin project. Facebook said it plans to launch Libra, known as Diem, in 2019, which quickly sparked concerns from regulators and lawmakers who had been hesitant about a stablecoin tied to the social media company. .
Before Diem was finally shut down, Waters said he and other lawmakers sent a letter to Meta in 2019 requesting a moratorium on continued work on its proposed digital wallets, Libra and Calibra, over privacy and national security concerns. .
Waters points to Meta’s past statements:
Meta’s staff also told the Democratic Committee in October that “there is no digital asset work underway at Meta,” Waters said in the letter.
“Meta employees have indicated that the company is not currently working on or planning to work on blockchain-based products or stablecoins,” Waters said. “Meta employees also asserted that Meta does not work with any partners to integrate stablecoins or cryptocurrencies into payments or Metaverse products and does not pursue research and development in those areas.”
But the Meta trademark application suggests Meta has not ceased operations since shutting down Diem, Waters said.
Waters asked the company about its upcoming projects and “plans to launch a payment platform that supports cryptocurrency.” Lawmakers have not set a timetable for their response.
Mehta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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