US lawmakers accuse Meta of approving hard drug advertising aimed at teens and children – Firstpost

A bipartisan group of 19 U.S. lawmakers has raised serious concerns about Meta's handling of illegal drug advertisements targeted at teens and children on its platforms.

In an open letter to Meta, lawmakers criticized the company for failing to prevent “obvious” drug advertisements on Instagram and Facebook, despite Meta itself having policies against such content. The letter is the latest in a series of criticisms aimed at the social media giant, highlighting the ongoing problem of child safety on its platforms.

Scrutiny of Meta has intensified this year after reports emerged that federal prosecutors were investigating whether the company indirectly profited from drug sales through its platforms.

These sales were allegedly targeted at young users, raising alarm about the potential exposure of minors. Lawmakers expressed outrage that these ads were not user-generated content, but were approved and monetized by Meta itself, making the situation even more concerning.

Earlier this year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the U.S. Senate in a hearing on child safety on social media. During the hearing, Zuckerberg took the unusual step of apologizing directly to a gallery of parents whose children had been victims of online abuse, some of whom had tragically committed suicide.

The lawmakers referenced that apology in their letter, pointing out that despite Zuckerberg's assurances and the company's community standards, Meta continues to allow ads promoting the sale of illegal drugs, including OxyContin, MDMA, cocaine and other substances, through 2024.

Leaders of the movement include House Minority Whip Lori Trahan of Massachusetts, Democrat, and Republican Randy Weber of Texas, vice chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Technology.

They emphasized the particularly egregious nature of this situation, pointing out that these were not hidden posts on the dark web or private sites, but rather ads approved by Meta.

Lawmakers expressed deep frustration that Meta, a company with considerable resources and technological capabilities, allowed such harmful content to be distributed to vulnerable users, especially minors.

In response to the criticism, Meta issued a statement to CNBC claiming that its systems actively reject hundreds of thousands of ads because they violate its drug policies. The company also emphasized its cooperation with law enforcement in combating criminal activity on its platforms and acknowledged the challenges posed by drug traffickers operating across multiple platforms and communities.

But those assurances have done little to allay concerns. Reports earlier this year, including one from the Wall Street Journal, indicated that federal prosecutors were investigating whether Meta facilitated or even profited from the sale of illegal drugs on Instagram and Facebook.

While Meta claimed to be working with authorities to curb illegal transactions, subsequent reports suggested the problem persisted. In July, the Wall Street Journal published another report showing that Meta's platforms continued to host ads for illegal substances such as cocaine and prescription opioids.

Around the same time, watchdog group Tech Transparency Project also conducted an investigation and discovered over 450 ads on Instagram and Facebook promoting pharmaceuticals and other drugs. The ads often showed images of pills, powders and blocks of cocaine and asked users to contact the sellers through encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Telegram.

The MEPs concluded their letter by accusing Meta of shirking its social responsibilities and failing to comply with its own community guidelines. They stressed that protecting users, especially children and teenagers, is its top priority and warned that Meta's continued negligence in this area cannot be left unchallenged.

Pressure is growing on Meta to take more decisive action to prevent its platforms from becoming conduits for the illegal drug trade, particularly when it targets young, impressionable users.