Members of Congress on Thursday asked Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg to provide details about ads for opioids and other illicit drugs on the technology giant’s platform.
A letter signed by 19 lawmakers called for detailed information about such ads in the wake of disturbing reports by the Tech Transparency Project and the Wall Street Journal.
“Meta appears to be continually shirking its social responsibility and disregarding its own community guidelines,” the letter reads.
“What is particularly egregious in this case is that these were not user-generated content on the dark web or private social media pages, but rather advertisements approved and monetized by Meta.”
The Tech Transparency Project reported in March that more than 450 ads on Instagram and Facebook were selling illegal drugs.
According to the nonprofit research group, many of the ads “made no secret of their intentions,” showing pictures of bottles of the drug or bricks of cocaine and encouraging people to place orders.
The investigation turned up searches for terms such as “OxyContin,” “Vicodin” and “pure coke” in Meta’s ad library, TTP said.
In the letter written to Zuckerberg by Congress members, Zuckerberg has been asked to respond by September 6.
Questions included how many illegal drug ads Meta ran on its platform, what it did about them, and whether audiences were targeted for such ads based on personal health information.
Meta plans to respond to the letter.
“Drug dealers are criminals who operate across a variety of platforms and communities, which is why we work with law enforcement to help combat this activity,” a Meta spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.
“Our systems are designed to proactively detect and take action against violating content, and we disapprove millions of ads that violate our drug policies.”
The spokesperson said Meta continues to invest in improving its ability to catch illegal drug ads.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)