In a letter this week to leftist Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) demanded that he respond to an investigation that claimed that drug dealers are openly selling illegal drugs including opioids on Instagram, which Facebook owns. Hawley wrote, “It is unconscionable that any company would aid and abet this epidemic of death and despair.”
“The findings of the report are horrifying, especially as our nation confronts a drug overdose epidemic of historic proportions and an alarming deterioration of teenagers’ mental health precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic and misguided mitigation measures to it,” Hawley wrote. “According to provisional data from the National Center for Health Statistics released in November, more than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12-month period between May 2020 and April 2021—a record high and a 30 percent increase over the previous year…
“It is unconscionable that any company would aid and abet this epidemic of death and despair. Unfortunately, given Instagram’s blatant disregard for the mental health of its young users, the findings from TPP’s investigation are not shocking,” he added.
Hawley demanded that Zuckerberg provide an explanation of the measures and protocols put in place by Instagram to track and remove these drug dealing accounts. Hawley further requested information on whether Instagram had collaborated with law enforcement officials to crack down on the issue.