In this photo illustration, a smart phone is displaying Facebook with the Meta icon visible in the background. The image captures Facebook, a social media platform that has been around for 20 years, in Brussels, Belgium on February 4, 2024.
According to documents and sources familiar with the matter, U.S. prosecutors in Virginia are currently investigating whether Meta, the parent company of Facebook, allowed and benefited from the illegal drug trade on its social media platforms.
According to the report, the prosecutors have been actively pursuing a criminal grand jury probe, sending subpoenas and asking questions. They are specifically seeking records related to drug content or the illicit sale of drugs on Meta’s platforms.
The Food and Drug Administration has also been assisting with the investigation, according to the newspaper. It emphasized that investigations do not always result in the filing of charges for any wrongdoing.
According to a statement from Meta’s spokesman, the company has a strict policy against the sale of illicit drugs, and they actively work to identify and remove such content from their services.
According to Meta, they actively collaborate with law enforcement authorities to combat the sale and distribution of illegal drugs.
The prosecutors’ office and a representative from the FDA declined to provide any comments to WSJ.
Reuters’ request for comment went unanswered by Meta, the FDA, and the Virginia Attorney General’s office at the time of writing.
Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, announced on social media platform X that Meta has partnered with the U.S. State Department, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and Snapchat to combat the sale of synthetic drugs online and raise awareness about the dangers they pose.
