[News Terms] The 'Cooper Davis Act' to Stop Online Drug Distribution

16-year-old boy Cooper dies after taking painkiller bought on Snapchat
US Senate condemns "(SNS platforms) are creating products that kill people"
Spiegel Snapchat CEO apologizes "Sorry for failing to prevent such tragedy"

The 'Cooper Davis Act (U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Bill Number: S. 1080)' is a bill that mandates companies providing electronic communication services such as email, mobile phones, and social media to promptly report to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) if they detect signs of illegal drug distribution on their services (platforms). It was introduced by Senator Don Marshall of Kansas on March 30 last year and is currently under review by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

According to the homepage of Senator Marshall, who introduced the bill, the Cooper Davis Act is in honor of Cooper Davis, a 16-year-old boy from Johnson County, Kansas. In August 2021, Cooper and three of his friends met a drug dealer through Snapchat and purchased a drug presumed to be Percocet, an FDA-approved prescription medication used to treat severe pain. However, the drug contained illegal fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid. The four teenagers shared two pills; Cooper, who took half of one pill, died, while his three friends survived.

On the 31st of last month (local time), major social media CEOs appeared at a hearing held in the U.S. Senate in Washington DC, listening to questions from lawmakers. From left to right: Jason Citron, CEO of Discord; Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snapchat; Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok; Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X (formerly Twitter); Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta.
[Photo by AP Washington/ Yonhap News]

Fentanyl is currently considered the most dangerous drug for Americans. Fatal addiction is rapidly increasing among teenagers and young adults. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that from 2019 to 2021, deaths from illegal fentanyl overdoses among 10-19-year-olds increased by 182%. It was found that 25% of the deceased had taken counterfeit prescription drugs.

International drug cartels have established vast and sophisticated online distribution networks through social media, dominating illegal fentanyl trafficking within the United States. While investigating fentanyl-related deaths and addiction cases, the DEA discovered an alarmingly high rate of purchases of fentanyl and other deadly drugs through platforms like TikTok and Snapchat. In fact, after investigating hundreds of cases over about five months, the DEA confirmed that 36% of detected cases were linked to Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and TikTok. The DEA also updated a public safety alert in 2022 stating that 6 out of 10 counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl included lethal doses.

The Cooper Davis Act requires social media companies and other communication service providers to create standardized and comprehensive frameworks to cooperate with federal agencies and take a more proactive role in addressing the illegal sale and distribution of drugs on their platforms.

On the 31st (local time), the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the theme of 'Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis.' Attending the hearing as witnesses were Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram; Evan Spiegel of Snapchat; Shou Zi Chew of TikTok; Linda Yaccarino of X (formerly Twitter); and Jason Citron of Discord.

During the hearing, committee members criticized these social networking service (SNS) platforms for neglecting harmful content such as sexual exploitation targeting minors, which frequently leads to exposure, addiction, and even loss of life.

Families of online child sexual exploitation victims attended a hearing at the U.S. Senate in Washington DC on the 31st of last month (local time), holding photos of the victims.
[Photo by Washington AP/ Yonhap News]

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) sharply told the CEOs, "You have blood on your hands. You are creating products that kill people." When Democratic Senator LaFonz Butler (California) pointed to cases like Cooper Davis, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, who expressed support for the Cooper Davis Act, apologized, saying, "I am very sorry we could not prevent such tragedies."

On the 30th, the United States and China launched their first working group to block illegal synthetic drugs such as fentanyl. The White House stated in a press release that the goal of this working group is to block fentanyl distribution to save lives in the U.S. and worldwide and to prevent corruption and violence by drug traffickers.

The fentanyl working group meeting was decided during a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November last year. The first meeting was held about three months after the two leaders agreed.

At this meeting, both sides reportedly agreed on the need for ▲ cooperation in law enforcement actions ▲ addressing the misuse of precursor chemicals, pill presses, and related equipment for illegal drug manufacturing ▲ targeting illegal funding of transnational criminal organizations ▲ participation in multilateral forums.