Drug Czar Hosts Roundtable Discussion at the White House About Combatting Illicit Drug Trafficking on Social Media Platforms

ONDCP Leads Collaboration Between Representatives from the Social Media Industry, DOS, HHS, DEA, HUD, HSI, USPIS and ATF.

On Wednesday, February 18th, Drug Czar Sara Carter brought together Trump Administration officials and representatives from social media companies, including Meta, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Internet Works, for a roundtable focused on ending the sale of illicit drugs via social media platforms. In a rapidly evolving digital age, drug dealers and traffickers abuse platforms that are meant to foster connection-even to the point of targeting children. The roundtable participants provided their perspectives on best practices for keeping children safe from drug traffickers who seek to exploit them online.

"Throughout my career, I have spoken to countless families who lost a child or loved one to drugs purchased through social media," said Director Carter. "In many of these cases, the victim thought they were purchasing a safe pill, which actually contained a lethal dose of illicit fentanyl.In order to prevent this senseless loss of life, ONDCP will need full-scale cooperation from social media companies, law enforcement, and the whole-of-government. Most importantly, we as parents need to educate our children about the dangers of drugs and monitor their social media use to protect them from those who seek to do irreparable harm."

The participants committed to enhance coordination between law enforcement and social media companies in the digital drug trafficking space to prevent illicit drug activity and the abuse of social media platforms.

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy | WhiteHouse.gov/ONDCP | @ONDCP