While 700,000 people died between 1999 and 2022 in the United States from overdoses linked to taking opiates obtained legally or not, the Meta group and its Instagram and Facebook platforms are suspected of facilitating and profiting from illegal sales of drugs, which led federal prosecutors to open a criminal investigation in 2023, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote on Saturday.
The American economic daily, referring to documents and people close to the case, specifies that subpoenas and interrogations were carried out as part of proceedings before a grand jury, made up of citizens who participate in the phase of 'instruction.
The latter must determine whether Meta's platforms “facilitate and profit from the illegal sale of drugs” and must therefore be prosecuted, explains the WSJ, which claims to have consulted subpoenas distributed in 2023.
Also read Opiate crisis: three questions about this addiction which is wreaking havoc
Federal prosecutors in the eastern state of Virginia “requested records related to
content about infringing drugs (with regulations) on Meta's platforms and/or the illegal sale of drugs via Meta's platforms
".
The American Medicines Agency (FDA) is supporting this federal investigation, adds the daily.
Asked by AFP on Saturday, the FDA and Meta did not respond immediately.
“Meta cooperates with law enforcement”
But a Meta spokesperson told the WSJ that “the illegal sale of drugs (is) against our policy and we are working to find and remove this content from our services”.
“Meta is proactively cooperating with law enforcement to help combat the illegal sale and distribution of drugs,” she said.
Nick Clegg, Meta's president of international affairs, posted Friday on X (formerly Twitter) that the group had joined the Alliance to Prevent Drug Harm, alongside the US State Department and the Office of United Nations on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC).
The opioid epidemic is a major public health issue that requires action from all parts of US society.
That's why @Meta has joined the Alliance to Prevent Drug Harms alongside the @StateDept @UNODC & @Snapchat to help disrupt the sale of synthetic drugs online + educate users…
— Nick Clegg (@nickclegg) March 15, 2024
The objective is, in particular, “to help prevent the sale of synthetic drugs on the Internet”, he explained, noting that the opioid crisis constituted a “major public health problem” in the United States.