Skip to content

Members of US House of Representatives think Facebook Libra might be used by Terrorists

members-of-us-house-of-representatives-think-facebook-libra-might-be-used-by-terrorists
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives while in a briefing opined that Libra cryptocurrency by Facebook could potentially be used by terrorists.

On June 27, 2019, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives while in a briefing opined that Libra cryptocurrency by Facebook could potentially be used by terrorists, extremists, and/or enemies to wreak havoc on the U.S. The representatives are, therefore, looking at how machine learning and artificial intelligence can be used to mitigate the illicit use of crypto assets, according to the Coindesk’s report on June 27, 2019.

Briefing on How Machine Learning and AI Can Eliminate Money Laundering

Per the report, members of the U.S. House of Representatives including Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), Bill Foster (D-IL), French Hill (R-AR), and Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) were in a briefing. The Representatives held the briefing with members of the House Financial Services Committee and Kenneth Blanco, director of FinCEN, the U.S. Treasury anti-money-laundering department and sought answers from Blanco about Facebook’s Libra.

The aim of the meeting between the trio was to ascertain how machine learning and artificial intelligence could be used in eliminating money laundering and other illegal activities. To that effect, Facebook’s intended launch of its Libra cryptocurrency was also a topic of discussion where Emanuel Cleaver pointed out that the social media company had failed in the past to properly store user data and stop the spread of misinformation.

Damage Caused by Foreign Adversaries Using Facebook’s Platform

According to Cleaver in a statement, the House of Representatives has seen significant damage caused by foreign adversaries on the U.S. democracy through the use of Facebook’s platform. The latter was simply made possible using messaging and advertising.

“Before we allow such a giant corporation to begin processing millions to billions of financial transactions, we have to study these issues and ensure we have the tools and guardrails in place to deter terrorists, extremists, and/or enemies from utilizing such a platform to do harm to our nation,” he added.

Cleaver also noted that “nefarious actors”  are adopting new ways such as cryptocurrencies and new marketplaces to facilitate money laundering and other illicit financial activities.

He, therefore, outlined that now that Facebook, a platform that was unable to identify and prevent these bad actors at an acceptable level is trying to create Libra, a global currency, it makes it important for the Congress and financial transmitters to adopt “the newest and most powerful technologies to ensure the financial system is not being used improperly.”

Latest