Does Meta help sell illicit drugs?
Meta, with its Facebook and Instagram platforms, has come under investigation in the United States for its alleged role in the sale of illicit drugs. All the details
US authorities are investigating Meta for its role in the sale of illicit drugs. This was revealed by the Wall Street Journal , which cites some sources, according to whom the investigation aims to ascertain whether Mark Zuckerberg's company which controls Facebook and Instagram has facilitated and profited from this business.
THE INVESTIGATIONS
Virginia prosecutors, in addition to investigating Meta's role in the sale of illicit drugs, have requested documents relating to content disseminated through its platforms and suspected of violating the rules on the promotion and sale of drugs and/or the sale of drugs illicit.
According to The Verge , researchers who collected data on prescription drug ads on Facebook for the Journal in 2022 said they also received a subpoena.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) collaborated in the investigation and the WSJ underlined that these facts do not always lead to accusations of wrongdoing.
META'S ANSWER
“The sale of drugs is against our policies and we work to find and remove this content from our services,” was declared by a Meta spokesperson, who added that the company “actively collaborates with police authorities to combat the sale and distribution of drugs".
AN ANTI-DRUG COALIZATION
Added to this was Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, who wrote in X last Friday that the company has joined forces with the US State Department, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Snapchat to help stop the sale of synthetic drugs online and educate users about the associated risks.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES THAT BIG TECH DON'T WANT
Whether promoting and selling prescription drugs or illicit drugs, as the WSJ notes, lawmakers have debated the need to hold tech companies accountable for what third parties post on their platforms.
However, “efforts to do so have been complicated by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which states that online platforms are not responsible for what third parties post, with some exceptions.”
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/meta-aiuta-a-vendere-farmaci-illeciti/ on Sun, 24 Mar 2024 14:52:29 +0000.