Facebook, Twitter Pushed to Do More to Halt Opioid Sales

(Bloomberg) -- The top U.S. drug regulator wants social-media sites including Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. to do more to stop illegal online sales of opioids that are contributing to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is expected to say in a speech on Wednesday that social-media companies and internet-service providers need to be more proactive in rooting out sales pitches for addictive painkillers. He said that while the platforms are reluctant to police content the ads are “insidious threats.”

“The magnitude of the public health emergency presented by the opioid crisis requires a change in mindset among internet companies,” Gottlieb said in remarks he plans to deliver at the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in Atlanta. “We want to work collaboratively with these firms to organize this action. We trust that the leaders of these firms share our concerns.”

The FDA plans to invite top internet company executives to a summit with advocates and academics to attempt to come up with solutions, he said, though he didn't say when the summit might be. Gottlieb wants the tech industry to agree to reduce opioid availability online and to meet again in a year to review progress.

It's not clear how far the FDA's authority over online drug sales extends. The Justice Department has said that ending the flow of illegal opioids in the U.S. is a top law-enforcement priority.

Twitter said in a statement that the company's rules “prohibit people from using our platform for unlawful purposes or in furtherance of illegal activities,” including the sale of illegal drugs. Representatives for Facebook and Google declined to comment.

Facebook restricts ads that promote the sale of prescription drugs and ads for pharmacies are only allowed with written permission, according to the company's advertising policies. Gottlieb's planned remarks also call out Alphabet Inc.'s Google, which restricts the promotion of online pharmacies.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Edney in Washington at aedney@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Drew Armstrong at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net, Timothy Annett

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