Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) criticized Mark Zuckerberg's meta response to a bipartisan group of lawmakers about illegal drug advertising on Facebook and Instagram as insufficient.
CNBC Reports Meta, the parent company of social media giants Facebook and Instagram, has come under fire from Republican lawmakers for its “unacceptable” response to concerns raised by a bipartisan group of lawmakers about the proliferation of illegal drug ads on its platforms. Rep. Tim Walberg expressed frustration with a letter Mehta sent to lawmakers on Monday, alleging the company failed to answer specific questions he posed to CEO Mark Zuckerberg in August.
The MPs' questions were The Wall Street Journal The nonprofit Tech Transparency Project (TTP) found that many of the ads on Facebook and Instagram direct users to third-party services where they can buy prescription drugs or recreational drugs like cocaine. The lawmakers sought to determine the prevalence of these illegal drug ads on Meth's apps, the number of views and interactions with those ads, how many minors were engaged with those ads, and what action Meth has taken against the groups responsible.
Wahlberg criticized Meta's response in a statement, saying, “Meta's response not only ignores most of the questions raised in our letter, but refuses to acknowledge that these illegal drug ads were approved by Meta, monetized, and allowed to run on its platform. This is unacceptable. Meta must be held accountable for its negligence and the resulting impact on its users, especially children and teens.”
Meta declined to comment on the matter. But in a letter to the lawmakers, Meta's vice president of global legal strategy, Rachel Lieber, said the company shares the lawmakers' concerns about “the threat to public safety and health posed by the opioid epidemic.” Lieber stressed that fighting online drug trafficking is a complex issue that transcends any single platform, and that Meta remains committed to playing an important role in finding a solution.
Lieber also explained that Meta's policies strictly prohibit the buying and selling of illegal drugs within its apps, and that the company has a variety of measures and resources in place to detect and remove drug-related content that violates those policies.
TTP Director Katie Paul accused Meta of repeatedly dodging direct questions from lawmakers, the media and the public about the hundreds of illegal drug ads on its platform. Paul said, “Meta tries to deflect criticism and push a 'whole of society' approach, while the company profits from providing paid advertising to drug trafficking sites that would not have been able to reach without Meta's advertising platform.”
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering free speech and online censorship.
