TTP Report: Meta Allows Drug Ads Selling Everything from Opioids to Cocaine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 31, 2024
Contact: Michelle Kuppersmith, mkuppersmith@campaignforaccountability.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a non-profit watchdog group that runs the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), released a report revealing that Meta is allowing advertisements for illicit drugs that violate its own policies. Many of the ads featured images of pills, powders, or crystalized substances, and directed users to encrypted messaging apps where they could see prices and contact dealers. Ultimately, TTP identified over 450 ads that violate Meta’s policies against the sale of prescription and recreational drugs.
CfA Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith said, “Amid a national overdose crisis, Meta is showing users ads for opioids, cocaine, and MDMA. This is a company that employs thousands of engineers and is constantly launching new features yet seems unable or unwilling to keep basic promises on public safety.”
Meta says it reviews ads before they appear on its platforms using “automated technology” to scan text, images, and videos. However, TTP found that Meta failed to remove ads that displayed photos of prescription drug bottles with labels and brand names clearly visible. Fake online “pharmacies” purchased many of these ads — activity that may violate U.S. law, which prohibits offering prescription drugs without a prescription. One seller, called “A2Z Pharmacy,” paid Meta to run an ad with the text “Take Your Pills” alongside a list of drugs including Xanax, Valium, Percocet, OxyContin, tramadol, Adderall, and fentanyl.
For years, Meta platforms have been used by drug dealers to reach new customers. Investigations by TTP in 2021 and 2022 showed how Instagram allowed teens to find drugs for sale on the platform in as little as two clicks. For TTP’s new report, researchers determined that drug ads reached 2,256,800 users in the European Union, where Meta is forced to be more transparent about advertising on its platforms. This data offered a glimpse into the reach of the drug ads, which were seen by an unknown number of users in the United States.
Ms. Kuppersmith continued, “If Meta is serious about stopping the flow of illicit substances on its platforms, it needs to stop taking money from advertisers who blatantly violate its policies and endanger the public. Until then, dealers will keep turning to Facebook and Instagram as places to sell drugs.”
Campaign for Accountability is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.