Elon Musk questioned by senator about X Money plans

Elon Musk is facing questions about his upcoming payments platform X Money and whether it will allow users to make transactions securely. in Message to Musk on TuesdaySen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote that X Money could pose a risk to “consumers, our national security, and the stability of the financial system,” citing Musk’s “record of operating X.”

But Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, is not convinced that Musk can operate the payments service safely. The message indicates that X has It faced criticism from regulators over distribution Child sexual abuse material, incl Some of them were generated by his chatbot Grok. He also cites a report from the Tech Transparency Project, which found that X Allows users subject to US sanctions – including people affiliated with Hezbollah and Houthi officials – to pay for the premium subscription. “This track record raises serious questions about the privacy, fraud, and illicit financial risks that X Money may pose,” Warren writes.

The message also refers to screenshots X Money posted Star TrekWilliam Shatner, who recently gained early access to the platform. One of the screenshots X Money deposits are reportedly “held at Cross River Bank,” an institution that Warren says has faced “serious enforcement action” by Cross River Bank. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in 2023 Due to “unsafe and unsound practices related to fair lending.” “The bank is a repeat offender, having been the subject of a previous FDIC enforcement action in 2018 for unfair and deceptive practices,” Warren adds.

Warren is calling attention to the DOGE-led breakup of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as well The base will be finalized in 2024 For the agency to oversee digital payment applications such as X Money. “It benefited from the dismantling of the CFPB and its power,” Warren writes. “Following DOGE’s incursion into the CFPB, Acting Director Vought closed the agency’s headquarters, attempted to fire nearly 90% of its employees, and terminated pending lawsuits and enforcement actions against financial institutions that violated the law, among other actions to discredit the agency.” the GENIUS is crypto-friendly too It includes a “suspicious carve-out” that gives private companies like X the ability to launch stablecoins, Warren wrote, simultaneously. With X hinting at possible plans To engage in the crypto market.

Warren is giving Musk until April 21 to answer more than a dozen questions about Warren is also pressing Musk on whether X Money will “monitor and monetize consumer transaction data.”

Edge I reached out to X for comment but did not immediately receive a response.