Snapchat in the sights of the FBI. As part of a broad investigation into the opioid crisis in the United States, US federal agencies are investigating Snapchat’s role in the sale of fentanyl, an opioid 100 times more powerful than morphine.
According to the US media. Bloomberg, officers interviewed parents whose children died after buying fentanyl on Snapchat. The victims were primarily seeking over-the-counter pain relievers. Investigators are currently trying to access the victims’ accounts to find the suppliers of the drugs.
In the United States, the number of adolescent overdoses involving illegally manufactured fentanyl increased by 182% between 2019 and 2021, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Snapchat is a platform especially used by distributors because it allows sending ephemeral content. This prevents any trace or proof of illegal sale from being left.
For its part, Snapchat assures Bloomberg removing more than 400,000 accounts that posted drug-related content in the past few months. The company adds “working for years with law enforcement to combat illegal activity on its platform.”
Various previous complaints
This January 25, the situation of Snapchat was the subject of a round table organized by the Commission of Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. During the debate, it was heard that Laura Márquez-Garrett, a lawyer with the Social Media Victims Law Center, denounced the responsibility of the platform.
This isn’t the first time Snapchat has come under scrutiny on this issue. In 2022, dozens of American families sued the platform for being complicit in the sale of fentanyl to their children. The families also denounce the slow reactions of Snapchat and its weak mobilization to remove drug traffickers from its platform.
Source: BFM TV
