REPORTING DRUG DEALERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
While law enforcement and social media companies endeavor to keep their communities safe, it is an unfortunate fact that drug dealers are still making their way onto social media. Social media is the new ‘dark alley’ for drug dealers, and we ALL need to help to keep dealers out of our virtual neighborhoods. If you see someone selling drugs on social media, we encourage you to report what you are seeing to the social media companies or to the DEA.
If you have experienced the loss of a loved one, we send our heartfelt sympathy to you. If there is an open investigation, we recommend you talk to your law enforcement investigators before reporting the dealer to the social media companies to ensure you do not impede the investigation. Ask the investigators when is the appropriate time to report the dealer to social media, and who will do that. Don’t just assume the dealer’s account will be deleted— not all law enforcement agencies do this and reporting a dealer could save a life.
Note, for the safety of their followers, social media companies will not disclose the names/user IDs of anyone who reports a dealer. Please do not hesitate to report dealer if you see one. You could save a life!
The social media companies still have a lot to do to keep our communities safe. We encourage you to read and understand the safety policies of the social media companies, understand what you can do to protect your kids, and advocate for the social media companies to make their platforms even safer.
