US Lawmakers Question Meta about the Illicit Drug Ads on Its Platform

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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 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.

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.

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.