Senate Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal need Meta to elucidate what its stablecoin plans are.
In a letter despatched to the social media big on Wednesday, the lawmakers requested the corporate previously often called Fb to element its stablecoin ambitions and pointed to earlier studies about points Meta has had with scams, “alleged anticompetitive conduct,” and privateness points.
Meta is contemplating utilizing stablecoins for funds, Fortune reported final month.
“If Meta managed its personal stablecoin, the corporate might additional pry into customers’ transactions and industrial exercise,” the letter stated. “The large quantities of client information it might ingest might assist Meta gasoline surveillance pricing schemes on its platform, extra intrusive focused promoting, or in any other case assist the corporate monetize delicate non-public info by way of gross sales to 3rd celebration information brokers.”
The letter included a listing of questions, together with whether or not Meta is considering launching its personal stablecoin, whether or not it or any entity it is affiliated with has lobbied for the Senate or Home’s stablecoin invoice or in any other case supplied suggestions on the invoice. It additionally requested whether or not Meta would push again in opposition to an modification that will block massive tech corporations from affiliating with or proudly owning a stablecoin issuer.
It additionally requested the corporate to elucidate how its new stablecoin plan would possibly differ from the now-defunct Libra (later Diem) undertaking Meta spearheaded in 2019.
“The corporate tried to situation its personal non-public foreign money in 2019 — as a part of the so-called Libra stablecoin undertaking — and was met with overwhelming bipartisan and worldwide opposition,” the letter famous.
A spokesperson for Meta didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
The letter comes the identical day the Senate is ready to vote on the GENIUS Act, its stablecoin invoice. Although Senate Majority Chief John Thune stated weeks in the past that the physique would possibly take into account amendments to the invoice, he instructed Politico earlier this week that the trail for amendments was much less clear.
The invoice is more likely to move with none amendments. Senator Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, instructed CoinDesk final week he anticipated 16 Democrats to assist the invoice alongside a majority of Republicans, simply clearing the 60-vote procedural threshold for cloture.
