Καθώς οι ΗΠΑ αντιμετωπίζουν μια μεγάλη κρίση απιοειδών, μια ομάδα πρόληψης του εγκλήματος καλεί το Υπουργείο Δικαιοσύνης να περιορίσει τον ρόλο των μέσων κοινωνικής δικτύωσης στην εξάπλωση της φαιντανύλης, του ναρκωτικού που προκαλεί σε μεγάλο βαθμό μια ανησυχητική αύξηση στους θανάτους από υπερβολική δόση.
Το Εθνικό Συμβούλιο Πρόληψης του Εγκλήματος έστειλε μια επιστολή την Τετάρτη στον Γενικό Εισαγγελέα Merrick Garland, ζητώντας τη διεξαγωγή έρευνας. Η ομάδα φέρεται να ανησυχεί ιδιαίτερα για την πώληση χαπιών με φαιντανύλη στο Snapchat, μια πολύ δημοφιλή πλατφόρμα μεταξύ των εφήβων.
Overdose deaths in the US hit a record last year, with an average of one death every five minutes in the US. Among teens ages 10 to 19, deaths rose 109 percent between 2019 and 2021, according to monthly averages from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vast majority of those deaths, 84 percent, involved fentanyl, according to a report released last week.
Traffickers use multiple social media and money exchange platforms, sometimes in the same transactions, but Snapchat's encrypted technology and disappearing messages make arrests especially difficult, DePonte said.
Snapchat's parent company, for its part, said it has taken significant steps to improve security on the platform and saw a drop in user reports of drug sales of more than 23 percent last year.
Jennifer Stout, Snap's vice president of global public policy, said the company uses technology to identify and remove such posts and supports police investigations. "We will continue to do everything we can to address this national crisis."
Neville, who calls Snap's recent changes "a little Band-Aid on an open wound," is another who filed a lawsuit in California against the company. The lawsuit cites several teenagers and young adults across the country who have died from overdoses and was filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center, which is now representing 28 families whose children bought pills through Snapchat.
The Drug Enforcement Administration called fentanyl “the deadliest drug threat facing the country” and that “social media apps are the perfect drug delivery tool” naming the platforms Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube as well. .
