Cooper Davis of Shawnee, Kansas, was 16 when he died after taking a pill he didn’t know contained fentanyl. A bill named for him was introduced in Congress by Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., is proposing bipartisan legislation to require social media companies report to law enforcement agencies on the abuse of their platforms to illegally market fentanyl, especially to young people.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., is proposing bipartisan legislation to require social media companies report to law enforcement agencies on the abuse of their platforms to illegally market fentanyl, especially to young people.
Social media companies should be required to reveal to law enforcement the abuse of their platforms to engage in the illegal sale of fentanyl, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said Monday.
Shaheen, D-N.H., and Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, introduced the Cooper Davis Act aimed at assisting federal agencies in cracking down on the sale and distribution of counterfeit and controlled drugs sold via social media.
“Fentanyl is fueling the addiction crisis, and too many young people across New Hampshire and the nation are falling victim by acquiring drugs through social media,” said Shaheen, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee’s panel that approves the U.S. Department of Justice’s budget.
“Social media companies have a responsibility to report illicit drug activity on their platforms.”
Cooper Davis was a Mill Valley, Kansas, High School junior who died in August 2021 after taking half a pill he thought was Percocet but was laced with fentanyl.
Cooper Davis of Shawnee, Kansas, was 16 when he died after taking a pill he didn’t know contained fentanyl. A bill named for him was introduced in Congress by Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
Emily Curiel/ecuriel@kcstar.com
His mother, Libby Davis, has led a campaign to increase awareness about how fentanyl is disguised and sold as pain pills. Ultimately, users become hooked on the powerful opioid, often with fatal results.
“We will not rest in our fight to stop this terrible scourge that is killing Americans at record rates,” Marshall said in a statement. “Without a doubt, Cooper and all those who have been poisoned deserve our best fight.”
Under the measure, these social media companies would have to provide the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration with standardized reports that would enable the DEA to better identify and dismantle international criminal networks engaged in the illegal drug trade.
The bill requires the Justice Department to better coordinate its efforts in this area with the FBI, state and local authorities and foreign law enforcement agencies.
Shaheen noted the social media companies have had to share information with authorities about child sexual exploitation, as a result of then-Sen. Joe Biden’s PROTECT our Children Act in 2008.
“As the substance use disorder crisis continues to evolve, so must our response. This epidemic has wrought enough havoc and heartbreak on our communities: We must protect future generations from succumbing to addiction,” Shaheen said.
Cooper Davis’s mother said the legislation was a logical extension of the work her organization has engaged in since her son’s passing.
“I think it was already in the works; it wasn’t something that I requested, it was their own idea,” she said on her foundation’s website.
“When they took it upon themselves to create a bill and asked his name to be put on it, I thought it would save lives.”
Shaheen’s office said officials with Snap Inc., the maker of the Snapchat camera app, worked with the senators to craft the legislation.
“Snap is committed to doing everything we can to combat the national fentanyl epidemic. We appreciate Senator Marshall and Senator Shaheen’s work on this critical topic, and look forward to continuing to work with them on this important legislation,” Jennifer Stout, Snap vice president for Global Public Policy, said in a statement.
