Social media platforms including Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook and Instagram, China's TikTok and Snapchat have become dangerous marketplaces for deadly counterfeit drugs laced with fentanyl, contributing to a rise in overdose deaths among young Americans.
AP News Reports Social media has a new, dark side: it allows drug dealers to easily sell deadly goods to unsuspecting young people. Over the past five years, fentanyl overdoses from counterfeit drugs have become the leading cause of death among minors, despite a slight decline in overall drug use. In a 2022 analysis, the DEA found that six out of 10 counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl contained a potentially lethal dose.
Experts, law enforcement and child advocacy groups say social media companies like Snap, TikTok, Telegram and Meta Platform (owner of Instagram) are fueling this crisis, arguing that the companies aren't doing enough to keep kids safe on their platforms. With just a few clicks, kids can find dealers promising them prescription drugs like Percocet and Xanax. But often, what they get instead is counterfeit pills laced with deadly amounts of fentanyl.
U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Victims' stories follow a tragic pattern: Teens hear about the availability of drugs on social media. They contact a dealer, a package arrives, they take the drugs in their bedroom and die within minutes, sometimes not even discovered until the next morning. The National Crime Prevention Council estimates that 80 percent of fentanyl poisoning deaths among teens and young adults can be traced to exposure to social media.
According to the CDC, overall accidental overdoses have decreased slightly each year since 2021, but the declines have been very small: There were 1,622 overdose deaths among ages 0-19 in 2021, 1,590 in 2022, and 1,511 last year. Education and awareness have helped, but more needs to be done.
Social media companies say they are constantly working to solve the problem, and law enforcement has made some high-profile arrests. But the problem persists. Some platforms reportedly offer loose encryption and moderation of messages, making illegal activity even easier. Money is sent through legitimate payment platforms, and drugs are delivered through the mail.
Grieving parents who have lost children are speaking out and fighting back, some of whom have sued Snapchat, calling the app a “drug trafficking hotbed” and an “open-air drug market,” arguing that most young people believe they are buying genuine prescription drugs and are unaware that they contain deadly fentanyl.
Experts say that, as with other dangers kids face on social media, regulatory measures might help. A bill passed the Senate that would protect kids from dangerous online content and require the platforms to report illegal drug activity to law enforcement. But for parents who have already lost children to overdoses caused by social media dealers, it's too late.
Learn more AP news here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship.
