The Big Story 

Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday pressed Match Group, the parent company of the popular dating app, for information about its handling of romance scams.

© Getty Images

“Given Match Group’s stated commitment to improving upon its historical practices relating to user safety, we write today to request documents and information about the company’s policies, procedures, and practices related to fraudulent activity on its platforms,”  the senators wrote in their letter to Match Group CEO Spencer Rascoff.

The bipartisan duo is seeking “all documents and communications concerning the design, development, effectiveness, or consideration of fraud prevention measures” and “itemized quarterly investments in trust and safety.”

Romance scams are a leading form of financial fraud in the U.S., resulting in at least $1.3 billion in annual losses, Hassan and Blackburn noted.

These scams typically see fraudsters use fake online profiles to form relationships with victims and convince them to turn over funds.

“Over the years, many events have raised questions about whether Match Group—in its business practices and algorithmic design—has contributed to the proliferation of romance scams online,” the senators added.

They underscored that the FTC accused the company of exposing dating app users to fraud in 2019.

In a statement to The Hill, Match Group’s trust and safety head Yoel Roth reiterated the company’s commitment to user safety, citing investments in fraud detection as well as partnerships with law enforcement.

The Hill’s Tara Suter has more here.

Welcome to The Hill’s Technology newsletter, I’m Julia Shapero — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley.

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Crypto Corner 

Democrats call for probe into UAE chip, crypto deals

© Jose Luis Magana, Associated Press

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) called for an investigation Tuesday into reported connections between a United Arab Emirates (UAE) chip agreement and a Trump family stablecoin investment. 

In a letter to the acting inspectors general of the State and Commerce Departments and the acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, the Democrats pushed for a probe into two top Trump officials, David Sacks and Steve Witkoff.

Sacks serves as the White House artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto czar, while Witkoff is the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East.

The letter follows a New York Times report last week, detailing the intertwined nature of those involved in negotiations of both the chip and crypto deals. 

World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture founded by the Trump and Witkoff families, announced in May that an Emirati firm led by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan was using the company’s new stablecoin to complete a $2 billion investment in Binance. 

Several weeks later, the White House agreed to give the UAE access to vast amounts of advanced AI chips, with many headed for Sheikh Tahnoon’s AI firm G42.

Witkoff worked on the chip deal while his family business sought the crypto investment, The Times reported. 

Sacks also played a role in chip negotiations, seen as potentially beneficial to his work as a venture capitalist, but received an ethics waiver.

“If public reporting is accurate, it appears that Mr. Sacks and Mr. Witkoff, in exchange for personal benefit, may have aided a foreign power’s effort to acquire U.S. technology that could present serious economic and national security risks,” the senators wrote.

“This conduct compromised national security and may have violated federal ethics laws,” they added.

Crypto Corner is a daily feature focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington.