Instagram will send a pop-up about opioid addiction support if you search certain hashtags
Instagram says people are using the platform's hashtags to find addiction support and communities as well as illegal drugs. So, in response, the company is rolling out a pop-up today that'll provide users with drug addiction resources if they search certain hashtags, like "opioid."
[...] Instagram says that while many people use these drug-related hashtags to find support communities, others misuse them to sell drugs. In some cases, Instagram has blocked or limited these hashtags, but this prevents helpful support communities from forming, the company says.
If I misspell "#opioid", will I still get a warning?
Also at Engadget.
Previously: Facebook-Owned Instagram Removes Opioid-Related Posts
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One Woman Got Facebook to Police Opioid Sales On Instagram (archive)
Eileen Carey says she has regularly reported Instagram accounts selling opioids to the company for three years, with few results. Last week, Carey confronted two executives of Facebook, which owns Instagram, about the issue on Twitter. Since then, Instagram removed some accounts, banned one opioid-related hashtag and restricted the results for others.
Searches for the hashtag #oxycontin on Instagram now show no results. Other opioid-related hashtags, such as #opiates, #fentanyl, and #narcos, surface a limited number of results along with a message stating, "Recent posts from [the hashtag] are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram's community guidelines." Some accounts that appeared to be selling opioids on Instagram also were removed.
The moves come amid increased government concern about the role of tech platforms in opioid abuse, and follow years of media reports about the illegal sale of opioids on Instagram and Facebook, from the BBC, Venturebeat, CNBC, Sky News and others. Following the BBC probe in 2013, Instagram blocked searches of terms associated with the sale of illegal drugs.
[...] Carey is now the CEO of Glassbreakers, a startup maker of software to support workforce diversity. But she worked on illegal drug sales in her previous job at MarkMonitor, a company that protects brands like pharmaceutical companies from online counterfeiting, piracy, and fraud. In a Mar. 30 tweet to Rob Leathern, Facebook's director of product management, Carey wrote, "The historical response that users can report abuse and moderators will review hasn't changed in 4 years." She asked him to "Please hold leadership accountable."
#StopSnitching.
Also at CNN.
See also: Facebook Needs to Do More to Stop the Online Opioid Market, Says FDA Chief
Related: Senate Investigators Google Their Way to $766 Million of Fentanyl
U.S. Surgeon General Urges More Americans to Carry Naloxone
U.S. Life Expectancy Continues to Decline Due to Opioid Crisis
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13 2018, @04:02AM (3 children)
Does anybody know where I can get some morphine? I don't have a car.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13 2018, @04:20AM (1 child)
Not morphine, but you can get crack from vending machines now: https://ktla.com/2018/09/12/new-york-officials-seek-answers-as-crack-pipe-vending-machines-pop-up-on-long-island/amp/ [ktla.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13 2018, @04:27AM
Skit gone right.
(Score: 2) by BsAtHome on Thursday September 13 2018, @05:16AM
1) Get Instagram
2) Have your inner being turned outside by the program
3) Search for opioid hashtags
4) Look at the ads thrown at you
5) ???
6) Profit
Or something like that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13 2018, @05:19AM (1 child)
I'll join an opioid support group only if MDC is a member, preferably if MDC is leading the group.
MDC is so great, I want to start abusing opioids just so MDC can help me to stop.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13 2018, @07:11AM
The obvious rebuttal is that you do not have the moral fortitude to use opioids, even if MDC is leading the group. I suggest you crawl back into your hole, and get back to using kratom, or oregano, or Fox News, whatever you rely upon for your pathetic high. And then of course, you could just . . .
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday September 13 2018, @07:14AM
"it looks like you're looking for drugs. Can I help?"
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday September 13 2018, @12:46PM
Good-For-You-ism. That's what this is. Others decide what's good for you, instead of letting you make your own choices. If someone searches for "opioid treatments," then by all means give them results for addiction treatment. But don't give them what they didn't ask for because you know better than they do, because you're trying to correct them. It's incredibly arrogant and patronizing and it will backfire.
Build the best tools you can, make your money selling them, and then take your hands off. Let the buyer use them how they see fit. A world where my car won't take me to the beach because they're concerned about me getting a sunburn is a nightmare scenario.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13 2018, @04:34PM
What if somebody searches for suicide or gayness or abortion or satanic rituals? Why won't instagram help?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13 2018, @09:42PM
And after x times of showing you the popup, they drop a dime on you to the DEA.