NurPhoto via Getty Images
dDespite some safety changes and growing political pressure, young Instagram users still have fast access to drug-related content, a new study finds. In fact, some of those accounts appear to be actively selling illegal drugs, such as MDMA, a party drug also known as ecstasy. on the report Powered by the Tech Transparency Project, a progressive technology watchdog group.
Instagram has been working to curb drug-related hashtags, which remain a key element of its app architecture, but the group’s study found that drug content could be found simply by dropping the hashtag on a search. Researchers found that a search for “mdma for sale” rather than “#mdma” resulted in multiple accounts selling drugs. This also worked when searching for “oxy,” an abbreviation for the opioid oxyContin, and “Xanax,” the anti-anxiety drug.
The latest research from the Technology Transparency Project is: Research A group published in December detailed how teens access drug content and, in some cases, buy drugs through Instagram. Of course, the sale of drugs is not officially allowed on Instagram, and Instagram’s Adam Mossari reiterated this policy in his December congressional testimony. In addition to removing drug-related hashtags, Instagram added a warning message to drug-related searches that provided links to independent substance-abuse websites. These efforts aren’t enough, says Katie Paul, director of the Technology Transparency Project. “Instagram doesn’t want to cut revenue, so we’re opposed to doing anything on the platform that can tangibly address these harms,” she says.
A spokesperson for Instagram’s parent company, Meta, said accounts identified by the Tech Transparency Project have been deactivated. “We do not allow the sale of illegal drugs, and our system detects and removes more than 96% of contravening drug content before people report it,” the spokesperson said.
A new tech transparency project study highlights the tricky nature of Instagram’s dilemma. Although we have taken some steps to clean up our apps and better protect our young users, the platform remains vulnerable to misuse and breaking the rules. Instagram is moving to solve one problem to spy on where its roughly 1 billion monthly users are. It happens in another (or several) different places. The app has been particularly criticized by lawmakers over the past year. Facebook paper leaked Published an internal study of the effects of the app on the mental health of adolescents. Studies have suggested that it negatively affects some teens. Instagram has since tried to discredit its internal research, saying it has since relied on small sample sizes, among other issues.
To study Instagram and teen drugs, the Tech Transparency Project created a series of dummy accounts registered as teen users to test the app’s protection against teens. Congressional staff worked on similar projects and used the results to support criticism of Instagram and Meta when executives appeared on Hill.
A new Tech Transparency Project study also found loopholes in Instagram’s hashtag policy. For example, #fetanyl was blocked but #fetanylcalifornia was not, and a search for “#fetanylcalifornia” created an account where researchers sold opioids. #Xanax was blocked via desktop search, but still searchable on mobile. In another example, “#opiates” returned no results, but Instagram suggested #opatesforsale.
There is another place where Instagram’s algorithm goes against the app’s superficial safety practices. When the Dummy Technology Transparency Project account was launched following @silkroadpharma.cy, a seller of Adderall and the hallucinogen PCP, the researchers said Instagram recommended other drug-related accounts, including: @calipills_415. Studies have shown that the latter advertised “discrete shipping” throughout the United States.
At another moment, a fake Tech Transparency Project account followed @despasitro, also known as a drug trading account, and was prompted to follow another @xanaxsubutexoxycodone. What is @xanaxsubutexoxycodone’s Instagram profile picture? Heart drawn with white powder next to a small plastic bag.
.