Source: AFP
Members of Congress on Thursday called on Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg to provide them with details about ads for opioids and other illegal drugs on the tech titan’s platform.
A letter signed by 19 lawmakers asked for details on such ads with troubling reports from the Tech Transparency Project and the Wall Street Journal.
“Meta appears to have continued to shirk its social responsibility and defy its own community guidelines,” the letter said.
“What’s particularly scary about this case is that it wasn’t user-generated content on the dark web or private social media pages, but rather ads that were approved and monetized by Meta.”
The Tech Transparency Project in March reported finding more than 450 ads on Instagram and Facebook selling a range of illegal drugs.
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Many of the ads “didn’t hide their intent,” showing pictures of prescription drug bottles or bricks of cocaine and encouraging people to place orders, according to the nonprofit research group.
The investigation included searching Meta’s ad library for terms such as “OxyContin,” “Vicodin” and “pure coke,” TTP said.
The members of Congress’ letter to Zuckerberg sought answers from Zuckerberg by September 6.
Questions included how Meta might serve illegal drug ads on its platform, what it has done about them, and whether viewers were targeted for such ads based on personal health information.
Meta planned to reply to the letter.
“Drug dealers are criminals who work across platforms and communities, which is why we are working with law enforcement to help combat this activity,” a Meta spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.
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“Our systems are designed to proactively detect and enforce infringing content, and we reject hundreds of thousands of ads for violating our drug policies.”
Meta continues to invest in improving its ability to intercept illegal drug ads, the spokesperson added.
Source: AFP
