WASHINGTON – Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chair and co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, alongside Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Kennedy (R-La.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) recently wrote to four tech companies urging action to reduce illegal online drug sales and advertising.
The group of senators wrote to Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Pinterest expressing concern about the role that the internet plays in facilitating the deadly drug trade. Each platform has policies and restrictions against illegitimate online pharmacies and online advertisements for the sale of illegal controlled substances, including fentanyl—among the chief drugs contributing to the lethality of America’s opioid crisis.
“Despite their efforts to forbid it, some of the most popular websites are being used for the illicit sale of narcotics. It’s imperative that we all work collaboratively to combat the opioid epidemic. One of the ways to do this is to limit online access to illicit narcotics like fentanyl. These online companies can help limit illegal sales by preventing users from creating online black markets to peddle their poison,” Grassley said. “I appreciate any efforts by the private sector to help tackle this problem, and I’m committed to finding new ways to help stem the tide in our nation’s opioid crisis.”
The senators specifically urge Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Pinterest to take the following steps in helping us fight the opioid crisis:
- Directing users to legal and legitimate pharmacies that require a valid prescription as a condition of sale when users search for medicines on each platforms;
- Disabling the ability to search for illicit drugs through each platform;
- Requiring each platform to report to law enforcement when that platform receives information indicating that a company wants to advertise the use of or sale of illicit narcotics;
- Establishing a 24/7 telephone point of contact with whom law enforcement can communicate directly; and
- Incorporating training for each platform’s security reviewers to enable them to better recognize these threats when they first arise.
Links to the senators’ four letters with attachments follows.
