Federal bill spurred by Johnson County teen’s fentanyl death earns bipartisan support
Federal legislation prompted by the death of a Johnson County teen that would force social media companies to report illegal fentanyl activity on their platforms to law enforcement has gained bipartisan support.
The Cooper Davis Act, introduced in September by Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, now has the backing of Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Marshall’s office said Monday.
Cooper, 16, died in August 2021 after taking a pill laced with the synthetic opioid. His parents said the pill was purchased by a friend who used Snapchat to hook up with a dealer in Missouri. Cooper and three friends thought they were taking Percocet pills. He was the only one who died.
Law enforcement officials warn that an alarming rate of fentanyl-laced pills are sold through TikTok, Snapchat and other popular social media sites. Drug dealers take payment via apps.
Young people are taking pills they think are Xanax, Percocet, OxyContin and other pharmaceuticals, not knowing that some are counterfeit pills jacked up with enough fentanyl to kill them.
Within one five-month period 129 of 390 drug-poisoning cases investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration had direct ties to social media.
Drug cartels trafficking fentanyl in the United States use vast distribution networks on social media, Marshall has said. He describes his proposal as a way to hold social media companies accountable.
The Cooper Davis Act, which has been beefed up in recent months after feedback from victims’ families, law enforcement and federal agencies, among others, aims to provide federal agencies the data needed to intervene. The original proposal has been narrowed to focus on fentanyl, methamphetamine and counterfeit substances sold online.
The bipartisan legislation would create a comprehensive and standardized reporting system for the social media companies, with penalties for those who don’t report, and require better coordination between state, local, federal and international law enforcement agencies.
Some companies have already taken steps to combat illegal drug sales on their platforms. Snapchat, for instance, which has said it is committed to removing illegal activity from its platform, unveiled new safety policies last year, developing an educational portal that users are directed to if they search for drug-related keywords.
Cooper’s mother, Libby Davis has told The Star she had monitored her son’s Snapchat account and, “I could see drugs being sold on Snapchat, so it’s not hard to find. It’s definitely happening. People were posting pictures of what they had for sale and how much they cost. And it was people in our area. I know he had routes to drugs on Snapchat.”
“On Aug. 29, 2021, my 16-year-old son, Cooper Davis, was deceived to death,” Libby Davis wrote in a commentary published by The Washington Times last month in which she argued that the DEA needs better tools to crack down on illegal fentanyl sales.
The day Cooper died, she wrote, he “made a decision that ended his life, and like so many other teens across our country, he did not get the chance to learn from his mistake.
“Social media apps should not be ok with their platforms being a vehicle for the Mexican cartels’ drug distribution that results in the loss of countless American lives. A higher level of accountability for social media companies as it relates to illicit drug activity is needed more than ever.”
This story was originally published December 19, 2022 at 12:47 PM.
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