Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg receives letter from lawmakers concerned about illicit drug ads on Facebook and Instagram

A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers sent Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg a letter on Thursday expressing concern that the company is failing to prevent illicit drug advertisements from running on its platform.

The House members cited recent reports from The Wall Street Journal and the nonprofit Tech Transparency Project, which uncovered a flood of ads on Facebook and Instagram that pointed users to third-party services where they could purchase prescription pills, cocaine and other recreational drugs.

"On March 16, 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. federal prosecutors have been investigating Meta for facilitating the sale of illicit drugs," the lawmakers wrote. "Instead of quickly addressing the issue and fully removing the illicit content, on July 31, 2024, the Wall Street Journal again reported that Meta was '"running ads on Facebook and Instagram that steer users to online marketplaces for illegal drugs.'"

Most troubling, they wrote, is that Meta continues to run ads despite the company facing an investigation by U.S. federal prosecutors "for facilitating the sale of illicit drugs."

The letter's 19 authors include Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.). They noted the ads were "approved and monetized by Meta" and that they were not hidden on the dark web or private social media pages. Media outlets and researchers could easily find the ads, which contained "contained blatant references to illegal drugs," while Meta's internal processes apparently missed them, according to the letter.

"Time and time again we have heard from Meta that users come to your platforms because they like the personalization and experiences you provide, and you use sensitive personal information to direct such personalization through content and advertisements," the lawmakers wrote. "We in Congress, on multiple occasions, have worked to establish data privacy and security protections for Americans but have, in each instance, been met with friction and opposition from Meta with claims that we would drastically disrupt this personalization you are providing."

They sent Zuckerberg a list of 15 questions intended to uncover more details about how the Facebook parent is addressing the problem, and asked him to respond by Sept. 6.

Meta confirmed receipt of the letter and said it plans to respond. The company shared with CNBC the statement below that it gave to the Journal when it published the initial story:

"Drug dealers are criminals who work across platforms and communities, which is why we work with law enforcement to help combat this activity. Our systems are designed to proactively detect and enforce against violating content, and we reject hundreds of thousands of ads for violating our drug policies. We continue to invest resources and further improve our enforcement on this kind of content. Our hearts go out to those suffering from the tragic consequences of this epidemic — it requires all of us to work together to stop it."