Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, said she wants answers amid concerns that Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, may return to its digital asset plans.
California Democrat A letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Javier Olivan on Monday, expressing their concern about five trademark applications related to digital assets that the company has filed over the past year.
These applications were intended for projects including a “social networking and online dating” service that allows the exchange of digital currencies, the design of computers and software related to the blockchain, and “the trading of cryptocurrencies and other forms of virtual currency,” among others.
Waters criticized Meta’s foray into the cryptocurrency space, specifically the Libra stablecoin project. Facebook said it plans to launch Libra, later known as Diem, in 2019, which quickly raised concern among regulators and lawmakers who were hesitant about a stablecoin with ties to the social media company.
Before eventually shutting down Diem, Waters said she and other lawmakers sent a letter to Meta in 2019 requesting that it halt continued work on Libra and Calibra, its proposed digital wallet, due to privacy and national security concerns.
Waters refers to previous statements from Meta
Waters said in her letter that Meta employees told the Democratic committee in October that “there is no ongoing digital assets work at Meta.”
“Meta employees stated that the company is not currently conducting or planning any work on blockchain-based products or stablecoins,” Waters said. “In addition, Meta employees have confirmed that Meta is not working with any partners on integrating stablecoins or cryptocurrency into any Metaverse payments or products, and is not pursuing research and development in this area.”
However, Meta’s trademark filings indicate that Meta has not ceased business since it shut down Diem, Waters said.
Waters asked the company questions about the projects it plans to pursue and whether it “plans to launch a payments platform that supports cryptocurrency.” The congresswoman did not set a timetable for a response.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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