Bill honoring Kansas teen introduced to fight sale of fentanyl on social media

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - A bill that honors a Kansas teen who lost his life to fentanyl poisoning has been introduced to fight the sale of the drug on social media platforms.

On Thursday, March 30, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) says he joined Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to introduce the Cooper Davis Act.

“Fentanyl is flooding into our communities. Just this month, Kansas authorities made busts in both Dickinson County and Montgomery County that resulted in finding nearly 15,000 fake pills laced with fentanyl,” Marshall said. “This deadly drug is killing a Kansan almost every single day. This is a crisis and sadly our children do not know what they’re up against. If our nation is going to win this fight, we need Big Tech companies to crack down on drug dealers pushing this poison on their platforms to vulnerable teenagers like Cooper Davis and thousands of others.”

Sen. Marshall said the legislation would require Big Tech companies to take a larger role in protecting against drug dealers who prey on teenagers who use social media. The bill honors Cooper Davis, a 16-year-old from Kansas who lost his life to a counterfeit prescription drug laced with fentanyl in August 2021. It was later found that Davis had gotten the drug from a dealer on Snapchat.

“We are incredibly honored to have Cooper’s name on this very important bill that could save countless American lives. Drug traffickers should not be able to use social media platforms as an integral part of their business plan for the marketing and distribution of illicit drugs. Accountability and oversight are desperately needed to ensure absolutely everything is being done to keep illegal activity off these platforms,” said Libby Davis, Cooper’s mother and founder of the Cooper Davis Memorial Foundation.

Marshall noted that Davis and his three friends all contacted the dealer for what they believed to be Percocet. Davis died from only half a pill while his three friends survived.

“Fentanyl is fueling the substance use disorder crisis impacting New Hampshire and our nation and it’s killing our kids. Tragically, we’ve seen the role that social media plays in that by making it easier for young people to get their hands on these dangerous drugs – we have to put a stop to it now,” said Senator Shaheen. “Social media companies have a moral responsibility to report illicit drug activity happening on their platforms, and our bipartisan legislation would help ensure they work with law enforcement to do exactly that. Our families and communities have dealt with enough tragedy and heartbreak – we must protect future generations from succumbing to substance misuse.”

The Senator said fentanyl is the most dangerous drug threat in the nation and fatal poisonings are growing fast among America’s youth. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently found a 182% increase in illicit fentanyl overdose deaths among 10 to 19-year-olds between 2019 and 2021. Counterfeit prescription pills were found in nearly 25% of deaths.

“Tens of thousands of Americans are dying to drug overdoses, particularly because of illegally trafficked fentanyl. Law enforcement has found tragic numbers of overdose cases tied to major social media platforms. It’s critical that there’s a comprehensive system for these companies to aid federal authorities so we can stop this poison,” said Senator Grassley.

According to Marshall, international cartels dominate the trafficking of fentanyl in America as they have set up vast, sophisticated distribution networks that include social media. While investigating these deaths the Drug Enforcement Agency found an alarming rate of these pills acquired through platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat.

“Our country is facing both: a kids’ online safety crisis and a fentanyl crisis. Today, drug dealers can easily target kids through social media platforms. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach to curb the devastation caused by fentanyl, which we discussed in a recent hearing on kids’ online safety in the Senate Judiciary Committee. By holding Big Tech accountable for reporting when their platforms are used for illicit fentanyl trafficking, this bill will help equip law enforcement with information to fight fentanyl and protect kids,” said Senator Durbin.

In fact, in five months, the DEA linked 36% of cases to Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and TikTok. In addition, the DEA released an updated safety alert that found six out of ten fentanyl-laced counterfeit prescription pills contained a potentially lethal dose. This was an increase from the previous four out of ten.

“Fentanyl is devastating communities in Indiana and across our nation, and we need to do more to address the flow of these drugs, including distribution via social media, that are poisoning young Americans. Our bipartisan bill will give law enforcement officials more tools to combat the illegal sale and distribution of drugs,” said Senator Young.

Marshall said the bill would require social media companies and other communication service providers to be more active and work with federal agencies to fight the illegal sale and distribution of drugs on their platforms with the creation of a new framework that:

Requires communication service providers to report to the DEA on the sale or distribution of illicit drugs including fentanyl, methamphetamine, or a counterfeit controlled substance.
Bolsters DEA’s existing data infrastructure to improve intelligence gathering on drug dealers operating across various online communication platforms.
Improves coordination with other federal agencies, foreign agencies, and state and local law enforcement.

“As we continue working to combat the fentanyl epidemic, we must prevent these deadly drugs from being easily sold through social media,” said Senator Klobuchar. “By requiring social media companies to report illicit fentanyl trafficking on their platforms, our bipartisan legislation will help law enforcement crackdown on these illegal sales and protect kids.”

For more information or to read the full text of the legislation, click HERE.