Meta under fire (again) for drug ads

A bipartisan group of 19 House lawmakers is demanding answers from Meta after new reports revealed the tech giant is still allowing advertisements for illicit drugs to proliferate on its platforms.

A disturbing pattern of ads

The representatives, led by Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), sent a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressing deep concern over the issue.

The lawmakers pointed to reports and investigations by The Wall Street Journal and the Tech Transparency Project, which uncovered a disturbing pattern of ads on Facebook and Instagram directing users to online marketplaces for illegal substances. According to them, Meta appears to be struggling to effectively combat this problem.

“What is particularly egregious about this instance is that this was not user generated content on the dark web or on private social media pages, but rather they were advertisements approved and monetized by Meta. Many of these ads contained blatant references to illegal drugs in their titles, descriptions, photos, and advertiser account names, which were easily found by the researchers and journalists at the Wall Street Journal and Tech Transparency Project using Meta’s Ad Library. However, they appear to have passed undetected or been ignored by Meta’s own internal processes,” the lawmakers wrote.

Demanding transparency

The bipartisan coalition is demanding transparency from Meta, requesting detailed information about the company’s efforts to address the issue. The lawmakers have given Meta until September 6th to respond to a list of 15 questions.

In a statement, Meta acknowledged receipt of the letter and said it plans to respond.