WASHINGTON – On National Fentanyl Awareness Day, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is scrutinizing Snapchat’s self-reported efforts to end fentanyl sales on its platform.
Despite Snapchat’s claims that it is “proud to serve as a Founding Partner of National Fentanyl Awareness Day,” Grassley pointed out the app has reportedly allowed suspected dealers to continue operating on the platform, while flaunting its Section 230 immunity when confronted by survivor parents.
“These, and a growing list of other instances, raise concerns about the sincerity of Snap’s efforts to end fentanyl sales on its platform,” Grassley wrote.
Read Grassley’s full letter HERE and below.
April 29, 2025
VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
Evan Spiegel
CEO Snap Inc.
2850 Ocean Park Blvd.
San Monica, CA 90405
Dear Mr. Spiegel,
I write regarding Snap Inc.’s (“Snap”) statement that it is “proud to serve as a Founding Partner of National Fentanyl Awareness Day” and its claim that Snap has “redouble[d its] effort to eradicate drug sales on [its] platform and educate [its] community on the dangers of fentanyl.” A growing body of evidence commends a different conclusion.
On February 4, 2025, for example, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing entitled, “The Poisoning of America: Fentanyl, its Analogues, and the Need for Permanent Class Scheduling.” Witnesses testified that, in 2021, Snap executives met with parents who lost their children to fentanyl-laced pills obtained through the Snapchat application. At first, Snap executives claimed they were unaware children purchase drugs on the Snapchat platform, according to witness testimony. Then, executives flaunted the platform’s Section 230 immunity and told these parents they should have monitored their children better.
Careless responses like these make it difficult to trust that Snap has made much, if any, “effort to eradicate drug sales on [its] platform.”
Additionally, in an effort to persuade these parents of its vigilance, Snap pointed to Snapchat’s in-app reporting feature. However, at the February 4th hearing, Bridgett Norring testified that Snap has typically either ignored her in-app reports, or taken down the accounts only for the drug dealers to set up a new account using a burner phone. And even then, Snap is often delinquent in removing dealers’ accounts. Thus, this feature that Snap touts appears to be largely ineffective.
On other occasions, Snap has reportedly allowed suspected dealers to operate on its platform after receiving notice of their illicit activity. For example, in October 2024, detectives in Thurston County Washington became aware of a suspect selling controlled substances to high-school and middle-school students on Snapchat. Thurston County detectives secured a search warrant on the suspect’s Snapchat account, which would have been delivered to Snap for legal process. Despite receiving this notice, Snap apparently allowed the suspect to continue selling drugs to minors on the Snapchat application using the same account. Two months later, a sixteen-year-old-boy purchased what he believed to be MDMA from the dealer and died. It is wholly unreasonable for Snap to allow an account to operate for months, waiting in the wings for law enforcement to make a request.
These, and a growing list of other instances, raise concerns about the sincerity of Snap’s efforts to end fentanyl sales on its platform. Accordingly, please answer the following questions by May 29, 2025:
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