- 19 US lawmakers have written a letter to Meta asking about the drug-related ads on Instagram and Facebook.
- More than 450 such ads have been found. Each is approved and monetized by Meta.
- Meta said that it is against illegal drug use and has always tried to detect and remove content that violates its policies. The company will soon respond to the letter.
19 members of the US Congress including Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), have written a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, demanding an explanation on why there are so many illegal drug-related advertisements on its platform – Facebook and Instagram.
- Meta is also being questioned on how it reviews and approves advertisements, especially those related to drugs.
- The lawmakers also want to know how long it takes for the company to notice and remove such advertisements and if any action is taken against the users that are publishing these ads. After all, they clearly violate the company’s terms of service.
- Overall, Meta and Zuckerberg have a list of 15 questions to be answered and have been given until September 6 to respond.
Meta has acknowledged the letter and also promised to respond soon. Meanwhile, it shared a statement saying that its systems are designed to detect and remove any content that seems to be violating its policies.
Hundreds of ads have already been rejected owing to their association with drug use. And it’s constantly investing in and improving its infrastructure to limit the spread of drug-related content on its platform.
In short, it has recognized the gravity of the situation and promised to cooperate with the law enforcement authorities to fix the problem at hand.
‘Our hearts go out to those suffering from the tragic consequences of this epidemic — it requires all of us to work together to stop it’ – Meta
The bigger concern of the lawmakers is the effect of these ads on minors. The average number of deaths in teenagers due to drug overdose (aged between 14-18) have increased to 22 in 2022.
It’s not because teenagers suddenly started using more illicit drugs – the sudden influx of fentanyl is to be blamed.
Fentanyl is a deadly drug and is often found in small traces in other drugs such as counterfeit oxycodone, benzodiazepines, and even prescription pills. All of these drugs have been mentioned in the ads posted on Meta’s platforms.
Also, since Meta’s ads are apparently personalized for each user, teens with even the slightest curiosity about these drugs might end up seeing one of these ads and travel down the wrong path.
An investigation was also launched by the EU against Meta in May 2024 for not doing enough to protect minors on its platforms and promoting addictive behavior.
The Backstory: How Did the Matter Come to Light?
The letter follows a string of reports by The Wall Street Journal and the nonprofit Tech Transparency Project that discovered more than 450 ads on these two platforms talking about prescription pills and even hard drugs such as cocaine.
However, the surprising part is that despite all these reports, Meta continues to run these ads.
Not just that, the Wall Street Journal reported on 16 March 2024 that the U.S. federal prosecutors have been investigating this matter. And instead of quickly addressing the issue and removing the illegal ads, Meta fearlessly continued running the ads.
There’s no way Meta can excuse itself from this one because the ads were not running under disguise or on the dark web. They were “approved and monetized by Meta” and were easily found by media outlets and researchers. Meta cannot claim to have missed that.
So unless Meta pulls a rabbit out of the hat, it seems to be in some deep trouble for this stunt.
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