CfA's October 28, 2022 Newsletter
Thank you for your continued support of Campaign for Accountability. We're dedicated to continue working to hold the powerful accountable.
This Week:
- Gun Ads Flow on Meta Platforms: On Wednesday, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) released a new report highlighting Meta's failure to follow its own policies regarding ads that promote the sale or use of guns and weapons accessories. TTP identified 173 examples of prohibited ads in just a two-week period, promoting everything from handguns and scopes to AR-15 style rifles. The true extent of Meta's profits are obscured by their questionable record-keeping, which allows a majority of gun ads to vanish without a trace.
- Meta tried to excuse the findings by saying the "vast majority of people using [their] apps" don't see ads that violate policies on weapons or firearms. Yet, one single ad highlighted in the report was viewed more than a million times.
- The report was covered exclusively by NBC, then picked up by The Hill and Gizmodo later that day.
- TTP Research Bolsters Letter to Financial Regulators on Crypto Revolving Door: On Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent a letter with several colleagues urging financial regulators to address the staff "revolving door" between government agencies and cryptocurrency lobbying shops. The letter cited a TTP report which identified more than 200 government officials who brought their public sector expertise to crypto firms - a practice which, in the absence of strong ethics guidelines, can undercut effective regulation.
- TTP's contribution to the letter was mentioned by Politico, Barron's, and others.
- New Blog - How MLMs Finesse the Federal Trade Commission: Last week, CfA published a blog that examined the legal and legislative strategies used by multi-level marketing companies (MLMs) to dodge oversight and downplay their similarities to illegal pyramid schemes. FTC enforcement has been weakened by the industry's lobbying efforts, carried out by the Direct Selling Association, but an ongoing review of the agency's Business Opportunity Rule could be an opportunity to close loopholes and crack down on deceptive business models.
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Follow Our Work:
We thank you for your continued support. Without people like you, our work would not be possible.
Here is how you can stay involved and help us accomplish our mission:
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Be on the lookout for more updates about our work in the upcoming weeks. Thanks again for signing up to be a part of CfA!
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Michelle Kuppersmith
Executive Director, Campaign for Accountability
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