Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is under fire from U.S. lawmakers who accuse the tech giant of profiting from ads promoting illegal drugs on its platforms.
Ignores it's own rules
In a letter addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 19 members of Congress demanded that he appear before them to explain the situation, according to Ziare.
The congressional letter highlights that dangerous substances such as the opioids OxyContin and Vicodin, as well as "pure cocaine," have been advertised on Facebook and Instagram.
Lawmakers expressed outrage, stating:
"It appears Meta continues to evade its social responsibility and ignore its own rules. The most appalling aspect of this situation is that we're not talking about user-generated content, but about ads that were approved and monetized by the social networks."
Illegal Drugs and Precription Medicine
This controversy follows an investigation by the non-profit organization Tech Transparency Project in March 2024, which identified over 450 ads on Facebook and Instagram promoting prescription-only medications and illegal drugs.
The findings have sparked concern over Meta’s role in allowing such content to reach users.
Mark Zuckerberg has been given a deadline of September 6 to provide a full explanation to Congress. In response, Meta representatives have asserted that Facebook and Instagram reject "hundreds of thousands of ads that violate company policy."
However, this assurance has done little to quell the concerns of lawmakers who demand stricter oversight and accountability.
