In the United States, has Facebook facilitated illicit drug trafficking? The group is in any case the subject of an investigation across the Atlantic. American justice suspects Meta of having allowed the illegal sale of drugs on the internet, but also of having made profits from it.
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Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is in the sights of the federal prosecutor in the state of Virginia. THE Wall Street Journal reveals that a criminal investigation was opened in 2023 and that subpoenas have already been issued. Judges are demanding archives linked to content on medicines in violation of regulations. Medicines whose illegal promotion and sale would have been made on the group’s platforms.
The American drug agency is also participating in the investigation, which is taking place before a grand jury. A court made up of citizens participates in the investigation phase. For his part, Meta defends himself. “ We make every effort to remove content promoting illegal medicines », Says its spokesperson.
This practice worries American parliamentarians. In February, a group of senators sent a letter to the American drug agency asking for action to put an end to the promotion of drugs on social networks.
Preventing the sale of synthetic drugs on the internet
Nick Clegg, president of international affairs at Meta, posted this Friday March 15 on X that the group had joined the Alliance to Prevent Drug Harm, alongside the US State Department and the United Nations Office against drugs and crime. The objective is, in particular, “ to help prevent the sale of synthetic drugs on the internet “, he explained, noting that the opioid crisis constituted a “ major public health problem ” to UNITED STATES.
The opioid epidemic is a major public health issue that requires action from all parts of US society. That’s why @Meta has joined the Alliance to Prevent Drug Harms alongside the @StateDept @UNODC & @Snapchat to help disrupt the sale of synthetic drugs online + educate users…
— Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) March 15, 2024
According to data from the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 700,000 people died between 1999 and 2022 in the United States from an overdose linked to taking opiates, obtained on prescription or illegally.
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