Warren asks if X violating sanctions with ‘blue checks'

Yahoo

2 days ago

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised concerns Wednesday about whether Elon Musk's social platform X is violating sanctions by reportedly allowing members of terrorist organizations to obtain 'blue checks.'
In a letter to Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent and national security adviser Marco Rubio, Warren pointed to a recent report finding that sanctioned individuals from al Qaeda, Hezbollah and the Houthis had been allowed to obtain the check marks and the benefits that come with them.
'Although X's official policies state that its premium services are off limits for those subject to U.S. sanctions, in practice, X nevertheless appears to have facilitated payments for terrorists and other sanctioned individuals,' Warren wrote.
The Massachusetts Democrats underscored that X Premium users receive other advantages beyond the blue check, including revenue-generating features that allow users to 'transfer cash or cryptocurrency to sanctioned individuals.'
'In essence, X allowed its platform to be transformed into a sanctions-evasion service for individuals that threaten the safety of Americans on a daily basis,' Warren said in Wednesday's letter.
'These revelations raise serious questions about whether X is breaking the law and endangering the safety of Americans — and about whether the Treasury Department is prepared for the deluge of illicit, sanctions-evading transactions that will occur if platforms like X are able to create their own stablecoins, as proposed by the GENIUS Act,' she added.
Warren has been a fierce opponent of the GENIUS Act, a bill that would create a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.
She has argued that the legislation doesn't go far enough to prevent Big Tech firms, like X, from launching their own stablecoins and lacks restrictions blocking President Trump and his family from profiting off the industry.
The bill cleared a key early hurdle on the Senate floor last month, garnering support from more than a dozen Democrats. However, many have indicated they want to see changes to the GENIUS Act before voting for final passage.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has vowed a return to so-called regular order, allowing for an open amendment process on the floor that would permit more tweaks to the legislation but threatens to slow its progress.
A key point of contention has become the Credit Card Competition Act, which Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) has offered up as an amendment to the GENIUS Act.
The bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), would require large financial institutions to provide an option other than Visa or Mastercard to process credit card transactions.
The legislation has been aggressively opposed by the credit card industry, which argues it would enrich major retailers and force credit card companies to do away with popular rewards programs.
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