Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff introduced the Fentanyl Trafficking Prevention Act on Wednesday which aims to hold social media companies accountable for not preventing the sale of dangerous drugs on their platforms, including synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
The legislation would fine social media companies a maximum of $10 million in criminal penalties for allowing the unlawful distribution of opioids, synthetic opioids, methamphetamine, and cocaine — which violate these providers’ terms of service.
The bill also includes protections for the use of end-to-end encrypted messaging services and other types of encryption to ensure user privacy.
A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that fentanyl-involved deaths were among the highest drug-related deaths in the country in recent years.
