Snapchat has announced a series of measures it is taking to combat drug trafficking on its platform and to educate users about the dangers of fentanyl and other drugs. The platform directs users searching for drug-related keywords like fentanyl to a new educational portal called Heads Up. It is also intensifying actions against drug dealers on its platform, including enhanced in-app reporting tools and proactive detection.
These announcements come in the wake of a recent NBC News investigation into a series of deaths among teenagers and young adults suspected of purchasing fentanyl-laced drugs through the social network. The report alleged that drug dealers are able to use the platform to find buyers and that the platform is not doing enough to remove their accounts and keep them out. The social network has also been accused of taking too long to provide information to law enforcement authorities.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid linked to a troubling increase in fatalities in the United States in recent years. In 2019, it is believed that nearly 50,000 people in the U.S. died from opioid overdoses. Drug dealers often mix fentanyl into prescription medications like Vicodin or Xanax, which are then unknowingly purchased by customers.
Snapchat is committed to addressing the fentanyl issue. It asserts that it is taking more actions against dealers on its platform, stating that reporting rates more than doubled in the first half of 2021. Its systems have proactively detected 260 percent more substances than before. About two-thirds of drug-related content is discovered proactively through AI systems. Snapchat also claims to have improved its response time to law enforcement requests by 85 percent annually, though it admits there is still more work to be done.
In addition to proactively removing drug dealers from its platform, Snapchat points to research indicating that some users are unaware of the dangers of fentanyl, a concern the Heads Up portal is designed to address. The platform states it is promoting the portal, as well as raising awareness of fentanyl risks generally through a new filter, and it is also discussing the crisis in upcoming episodes of its original program, Good Luck America.
