ZCZC
BFF-22
US-IT-LIFESTYLE-FINANCE-FACEBOOK
Facebook eases ban on cryptocurrency ads
WASHINGTON, June 27, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Facebook said Tuesday it was easing
a ban on ads for cryptocurrencies while keeping a prohibition on initial coin
offerings to raise assets.
The move comes five months after the leading social network said it was
banning all ads related to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as a way to curb
scams.
To place ads on Facebook for cryptocurrencies, companies will need to be
pre-approved and offer proof they have licenses or are traded on a public
exchange, the company said.
“Given these restrictions, not everyone who wants to advertise will be
able to do so,” Facebook product management director Rob Leathern said in a
statement.
“But we’ll listen to feedback, look at how well this policy works and
continue to study this technology so that, if necessary, we can revise it
over time.
Facebook and other online platforms began cracking down on ads for crypto-
related businesses amid concerns over fraud in the burgeoning and largely
unregulated sector where currencies can see huge swings.
Fraud is common in the world of red-hot digital currencies such as
bitcoin.
Earlier this year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission shut down an
initial coin offering by a Texas company called AriseBank.
AriseBank was accused of relying on celebrity endorsers such as boxer
Evander Holyfield and social media to cheat investors out of $600 million of
its goal of $1 billion for a currency it called “AriseCoin.”
Initial coin offerings — used by some startups to raise billions of
dollars — still won’t be able to advertise on Facebook.
Twitter, Google and Snapchat have announced similar bans.
The British government early this year called for global regulation of
controversial virtual currencies like bitcoin.
Bitcoin and similar forms of virtual cash are independent of governments
and banks and use blockchain technology, where encrypted digital coins are
created by supercomputers.
The virtual currency is not regulated by any central bank but is instead
overseen by a community of users who try to guard against counterfeiting.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1007 hrs