Ernst: End the Flow of Fentanyl Through Facebook

Letter

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,

We write to express grave concerns about the public sale of fentanyl precursor chemicals on
Facebook and Instagram, both of which are owned by your company Meta. Fentanyl overdoses
claim the lives of roughly 70,000 Americans each year.1 It is incumbent upon all of us to do
more to stamp out this scourge on our society. That is why it is so disappointing to see one of the
biggest tech companies in the world permitting--willfully or tacitly--the sale of these dangerous
chemicals on your platforms.2

The Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS)--a division of the American Chemical Society--assigns
unique CAS registry numbers to every chemical substance described in scientific literature,
including fentanyl precursors.3 If a Facebook user searches CAS registry numbers assigned to
fentanyl precursors, they can find numerous public posts by users, including those associated
with Chinese companies selling these chemicals. According to a 2022 report by the Brookings
Institution, China "remains the principal (if indirect) source of U.S. fentanyl" and its precursors.4

A cursory search uncovered multiple Facebook posts advertising the sale of a fentanyl precursor
with the CAS registry number 79099-07-3.5 This substance was enforced as a List I chemical
under the Controlled Substance Act by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on April

1"Drug Overdose Death Rates," National Institute on Drug Abuse, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, published June 30, 2023, https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-deathrates#:~:text=Overall%2C%20drug%20overdose%20deaths%20rose,overdose%20deaths%20reported%20in%2020 21.
2 Senator Ernst staff, Facebook search for the CAS numbers of Fentanyl precursors, September 19, 2023. See Appendix.
3 "CAS Registry and CAS Registry Number FAQs," Chemical Abstracts Service, American Chemical Society, accessed September 19, 2023, https://www.cas.org/support/documentation/chemicalsubstances/faqs#:~:text=A%20CAS%20Registry%20Number%20is,CAS%20Registry%20Number%20for%20caffeine.
4 Vanda Felbab-Brown, "China and Synthetic Drugs Control: Fentanyl, Methamphetamines, and Precursors," Brookings Institution, March 2022, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/china-and-synthetic-drugs-control-fentanylmethamphetamines-and-precursors/.
5 Senator Ernst staff, Facebook search for the CAS numbers of Fentanyl precursor with CAS number 79099-07-3, September 19, 2023. See Appendix.

12, 2023.6 All List I chemicals are designated because they are used in the illicit manufacturing
of controlled substances, including fentanyl.

The widespread sale of 79099-07-3 on Facebook is not a fluke. We also discovered numerous
Facebook posts advertising the sale of three other fentanyl precursors that the DEA has already
enforced or is in the process of enforcing as a List I chemical. Once again, all a user needs to do
to find these posts is to search the CAS registry number of the illicit substance.7

This problem is not limited to Facebook. Instagram users can also find public posts advertising
the same precursors controlled by the DEA.8

The dealers responsible for these sales enthusiastically and openly exploit your platform to
conduct illegal activity. One Facebook user touted that their products are "widely exported to the
United States, the Middle East, Russia, Canada, Australia, Europe, and other countries."9
Another seller "guarantee[d] 100% of your packages pass through customs."10 Still others even
promoted their customer service, noting they "offer home deliver[y] service."11

Each of these posts clearly violates your community standards. The Facebook community
standards explicitly prohibit "[c]ontent that: attempts to buy, sell, trade, coordinate the trade of,
donate, gift, or asks for non-medical drugs," a term which your community standards define as
"drugs or substances that are not being used for an intended medical purpose or are used to
achieve a high -- this includes precursor chemicals or substances that are used for the production
of these drugs."12 The Instagram community guidelines contain similar language that prohibit
"content that attempts to trade, coordinate the trade of, donate, gift, or ask for non-medical
drugs."

6 Drug Enforcement Administration, Final Rule, "Designation of 4-Piperidone as a List I Chemical," Federal Register 88, no. 70 (April 12, 2023): 21902. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/12/2023-07538/designation-of-4-piperidone-as-a-list-i-chemical.
7 Senate staff discovered Facebook posts advertising the sale of three precursors with the CAS registry numbers 125541-22-2, 40064-34-4, and 99918-43-1. On November 9, 2022, the DEA enforced 125541-22-2 as a List I chemical. On April 12, 2023, the DEA enforced 40064-34-4 as a List I chemical. On April 14, 2023, the DEA proposed the designation of 99918-43-1 as a List I chemical. For more details: Drug Enforcement Administration, Final Rule, "Specific Listing for 1-boc-4-AP, a Currently Controlled List I Chemical," Federal Register 87, no. 70 (November 9, 2022): 67550. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/11/09/2022-24155/specific-listingfor-1-boc-4-ap-a-currently-controlled-list-i-chemical; Senator Ernst staff, Facebook search for the CAS numbers of Fentanyl precursor with CAS number 125541-22-2, September 19, 2023. See Appendix; Drug Enforcement Administration, Final Rule, "Designation of 4-Piperidone as a List I Chemical, "Federal Register 88, no. 70 (April 12, 2023): 21902. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/12/2023-07538/designation-of-4-piperidoneas-a-list-i-chemical; Senator Ernst staff, Facebook search for the CAS number of Fentanyl precursor with CAS number 40064-34-4. See Appendix; Drug Enforcement Administration, Proposed Rule "Designation of Halides of 4-Anilinopiperidine as List I Chemicals", Federal Register 88, no.72 (April 14, 2023): 22955. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/04/14/2023-07454/designation-of-halides-of-4-anilinopiperidineas-list-i-chemicals ; Senator Ernst staff, Facebook search for the CAS numbers of Fentanyl precursor with CAS number 99918-43-1, September 19, 2023. See Appendix.
8 Senator Ernst staff, Instagram search for the CAS numbers of Fentanyl precursors, September 24, 2023.
9 Senator Ernst staff, Facebook search for the CAS numbers of Fentanyl precursors, July 25, 2023.
10 Senator Ernst staff, Facebook search for the CAS numbers of Fentanyl precursors, July 25, 2023.
11 Senator Ernst staff, Facebook search for the CAS numbers of Fentanyl precursors, July 25, 2023.
12 "Facebook Community Standards," Facebook, Meta, accessed on August 17, 2023,
https://transparency.fb.com/policies/community-standards/restricted-goods-services/.

Social media companies have a responsibility to help prevent dangerous chemicals from getting
into the hands of bad actors and Americans of all ages. As the Department of Justice notes,
"[d]ismantling illicit online drug marketplaces and holding responsible corporations -- including
responsible executives -- who enable these illicit drug marketplaces, is critical to preventing
overdoses and stemming the flow of dangerous drugs into our communities."13

We could not agree more with the Justice Department.

Therefore, we urge you to immediately remove these posts and suspend the accounts of
individuals involved in this activity. Furthermore, we request an in-depth response to the
following questions in writing no later than Friday, November 17, 2023. The explanation should,
at a minimum, answer the following questions:

1. Does Meta, Facebook, or Instagram maintain a list of CAS numbers for illicit substances
that it monitors in posts and comments on its platforms?
i. If so, does Meta, Facebook, or Instagram automatically delete posts containing
these CAS numbers?
ii. Does Meta, Facebook, or Instagram maintain a similar list of names for illicit
substances as set by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry?
2. Will Meta, Facebook, or Instagram adopt any plans to prevent the recurrence of these
posts in the future?
i. If so, please provide a detailed explanation of your plan.
3. Were any posts advertising the sale of fentanyl precursors boosted through Facebook's or
Instagram's algorithm?
i. If so, what steps is Meta, Facebook, or Instagram taking to adjust its algorithm to
avoid such posts being boosted in the future?
4. Does Meta, Facebook, or Instagram have appropriate channels to report the users
responsible for these posts to federal law enforcement authorities, including the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department
of Homeland Security (DHS), Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control,
and Customs and Border Protection.
i. If so, in how many instances has Meta, Facebook, or Instagram responded to
federal law enforcement warrants related to the sale of fentanyl precursors on its
platforms since January 1, 2023?
5. Many of the users responsible for these posts are linked to Chinese companies.
i. Does Meta, Facebook, or Instagram have any data on the breakdown of the
country of origin for the users responsible for posts advertising the sale of
fentanyl precursors?
ii. If not, please provide a country-of-origin breakdown of users on Meta platforms
who advertised the sale of precursors with the CAS numbers 79099-07-3, 125541-
22-2, 40064-34-4, and 99918-43-1 since January 1, 2023.
6. Please explain whether Meta, Facebook, or Instagram collaborates with X, Alphabet, or
other social media companies to investigate the sale of fentanyl precursors on their
platforms.
13 "Objective 2.5: Combat Drug Trafficking and Prevent Overdose Deaths," Department of Justice, accessed on
August 24, 2023, https://www.justice.gov/doj/doj-strategic-plan/objective-25-combat-drug-trafficking-and-preventoverdose-deaths.
7. Does Meta, Facebook, or Instagram track data on the engagement metrics for posts
advertising the sale of fentanyl precursors?
i. If so, please provide the mean, mode, median, and range of the number of likes
received on posts by users who advertised the sale of precursors with the CAS
numbers 79099-07-3, 125541-22-2, 40064-34-4, and 99918-43-1 since January 1,
2023.

We look forward to hearing from you,

Sincerely,

Source