The social network will strengthen the fight against drugs and illegal content

Snapchat no longer wants to act as an intermediary in the drug market. The video and photo sharing application announced on Thursday a series of initiatives around the fight against narcotics on its platform.

The social network will therefore strengthen “the team that responds to requests from the police and other authorities on issues related to illegal content”. To improve the detection and removal of drug-related content, Snapchat combines several means available, in particular through artificial intelligence, human moderation and user reports.

Prohibit and prevent

The emphasis, however, is not only on repression. As part of prevention, Snapchat announces the establishment of a portal, called “Heads Up”, aimed at “sensitizing users on the risks associated with drugs and addictions”. Users will be able to find there “verified information from the interministerial mission for the fight against drugs and addictive behavior (MILDECA), with in particular a series of videos around the risks associated with the consumption of cannabis, MDMA or the misuse of the drug. nitrous oxide ”, specifies the platform.

“The measures announced today are part of a comprehensive approach to the fight against illicit substance trafficking, ranging from the development of proactive tools to detect and remove drug-related content and accounts, to close collaboration with the authorities, ”says Sarah Bouchahoua, Public Affairs Manager for France at Snap Inc.

Directly at home

Thanks to social networks like Snapchat or Instagram and encrypted messengers like Signal or Telegram, receiving narcotics at home has become child’s play, and the Covid 19 pandemic has amplified the phenomenon. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin publicly criticized Snapchat at the end of May, calling on it to “take responsibility” to “stop being the social network for drugs”.