On Thursday, a coalition of 19 Democratic and Republican lawmakers sent an open letter to Meta outlining concerns that the company was failing to prevent “blatant” advertisements for illicit drugs on its platforms. Published reports this year revealed that federal prosecutors have been probing whether Meta has profited indirectly from drug sales on Instagram and Facebook.
The letter came on the heels of a rare scene earlier this year, when CEO Mark Zuckerberg stood up in a Senate hearing regarding child safety on social media platforms, turned around, and apologized to a gallery of parents whose children had been victims of online abuse. Some of the children had committed suicide.
