|
 The announcement comes after a public safety alert from the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last week, which warned about
an increase in fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and
methamphetamine often sold on social media and e-commerce sites.
DEA head Anne Milgrim said in a recent interview with NBC News that
social media companies were not doing enough to stop the problem.
Social media companies, including the world's largest social network
Facebook, are under scrutiny from lawmakers https://www.reuters.com/technology/if-facebook-is-problem-is-social-media-regulator-fix-2021-10-06
over their impact on young users' safety and wellbeing.
Snap, which this summer faced a protest at its headquarters from
parents whose children had died after taking counterfeit pills, said
it had in the last year grown its team that handles law enforcement
requests to improve response times.
It had also worked to improve its proactive detection capabilities
to remove drug dealers from the platform.
[to top of second column] |
 "We have heard devastating
stories from families impacted by this crisis,
including cases where fentanyl-laced counterfeit
pills were purchased from drug dealers on
Snapchat," Snap said in a blog post on Thursday.
"We will work tirelessly to do better and do
more to keep our community safe."
Snap said it had developed a video ad campaign
and a new filter to raise awareness of the
dangers of fentanyl and counterfeit pills.
"Our first priority was to warn the kids that
these counterfeit pills have flooded the U.S.
market," said Ed Ternan, whose son died last
year from taking a fentanyl-laced pill bought
from a dealer he found on Snapchat, and whose
non-profit organization Song for Charlie is now
working with the company.
A Snap spokeswoman also said it would host a
summit this month with law enforcement officials
to improve lines of communication.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford; Editing by
Kenneth Li and Richard Pullin)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content |
