DEA tells TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram to do more to stop online drug sales
As the number of accidental drug overdoses continues to soar in the United States, the Drug Enforcement Administration is calling on social media companies like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok to do more about drug dealers on their platforms.
Earlier this week, the DEA issued a warning about an increase in the number of fake pills being sold online that are laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that can be deadly in trace amounts. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told The Washington Post that Snapchat and TikTok are not doing enough to stop drug sales, and the DEA will soon ask them to take specific steps toward getting all dealers off their platforms.
Social media companies say they have tried to combat the problem by hiring more moderators and tweaking algorithms used to spot illegal items for sale, but law enforcement and the families of overdose victims say there should be more parental controls on the sites and data should be shared to catch people working on multiple platforms. Law enforcement says in many cases, a drug dealer will first connect with someone on one site, then go to another to make the deal and a third to accept payment.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In 2020, more than 93,000 Americans died of drug overdoses, up almost 30 percent from 2019. In February, 16-year-old Sammy Chapman died after he took pills he purchased online that contained fentanyl. His parents, television host and therapist Laura Berman and Sam Chapman, say he met a dealer on Snapchat who used a colorful menu to advertise his offerings. They are working to get Congress to pass a bill requiring social media sites to integrate parental monitoring software, but privacy advocates have argued this could hurt kids who do not want their parents knowing about some aspects of their life, like their sexuality.
Sam Chapman told the Post that Snapchat said it has those same concerns, which he couldn't understand. "We're trying to protect from criminals," Chapman said, "and they're talking about privacy."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Antony Gormley's Time Horizon – a 'judgmental army' of 100 cast-iron men
The Week Recommends Sculptures are 'everymen questioning the privilege of their surroundings' at the Norfolk stately home
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'King's horses take free rein through London'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is pop music now too reliant on gossip?
Talking Point Taylor Swift's new album has prompted a flurry of speculation over who she is referring to in her songs
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Amazon ending 'Just Walk Out' grocery checkout
Speed Read In its place, the company will let customers scan while they shop with Amazon Dash Cart
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How social media is limiting political content
The Explainer Critics say Meta's 'extraordinary move' to have less politics in users' feeds could be 'actively muzzling civic action'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Justice Department bites Apple with iPhone suit
Speed Read The lawsuit alleges that the tech company monopolized the smartphone industry
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
House votes to force TikTok to sell or face US ban
speed read The House passed a bill to ban TikTok on national security grounds unless it sells to a non-Chinese company
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Apple kills its secret electric car project
Speed Read Many of the people from Project Titan are being reassigned to work on generative AI
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cellphone use may be lowering sperm count
Speed Read Electromagnetic radiation could be affecting male fertility
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Twitter's year of Elon Musk: what happens next?
Why Everyone's Talking About 'Your platform is dying', says one commentator, but new CEO is aiming for profitability next year
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Nasa reveals first findings from asteroid that could explain origins of life
Speed Read Sample from Bennu has been found to contain an abundance of water and carbon
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published