Sen. Klobuchar, Rep. Angie Craig back bill aimed at cracking down on fentanyl trafficking on social media platforms named for Hastings teen
HASTINGS, Minn. — Sen. Amy Klobuchar and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig are both backing a bill aimed at curbing fentanyl trafficking on social media platforms, which is a way for young people to get access to the deadly drug.
The "Cooper Davis and Devin Norring Act" is named for Cooper Davis from Shawnee, Kansas, and Devin Norring of Hastings. Both teenagers died from a fentanyl overdose after they purchased Percocet pills on Snapchat that were laced with the lethal synthetic opioid.
Joined by Norring's parents at Hastings High School Tuesday, the two lawmakers serving Minnesota in Congress touted the bill designed to hold social media platforms accountable for illegal drug dealing that happens on their sites. It requires the to alert law enforcement when such trafficking occurs and establishes criminal and civil penalties for failing to do so.
One in three cases of drug trafficking involved social media over a three-month period in 2021, according to data from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
"When a Boeing plane lost a door mid-flight, nobody questioned the decision to ground a fleet of over 700 planes. We need to take the same kind of decisive action on social media's role in the fentanyl crisis because we know that kids are dying," Sen. Klobuchar said during a news conference.
In Minnesota, more than 1,000 people lost their lives to an opioid overdose in 2022, which is the most recent data available. An overwhelming majority — 92% — of those deaths were linked to fentanyl poisoning, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
"Congress needs to take this into their own hands and force these tech platforms to get these drug dealers out of the hands of our young people across our community," Craig said.
Klobuchar said the proposal has moved through the Senate Judiciary Committee and is primed for a floor vote, while Craig is coalescing bipartisan support in the House.
Hastings Police Chief David Wilske said that law enforcement used to have some success finding and prosecuting drug dealers on these social media platforms, but it's become more difficult as companies use encryption services that shield messages.
"This effectively protects their users and does not allow law enforcement to retrieve the data, even with a search warrant. Make no mistake about it–the priority of social media platforms is protecting their clients. And this allows dealers to find buyers very easily and often remain anonymous," he explained.
He said the legislation will assist local law enforcement in their efforts in holding drug dealers accountable and will help bolster their case to press charges.
In a Senate Judiciary hearing in January, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said he supports it, too.
"We believe it will help the DEA go after cartels and get more dealers off the streets and save more lives," he told the panel.
In an interview with WCCO last summer, Bridgette Norring said her son, Devin—for whom the legislation is named—had a cracked molar and migraines, but pandemic lockdowns canceled his dental appointments. His friend said he could help him find a painkiller.
The Percocet that Devin Norring bought on Snapchat turned out to be 100% fentanyl.
"We wondered every day for four years if there was something we could have done differently. ," Bridgette Norring said Tuesday. "But we've also gotten angrier as every day goes by because in the years since Devin passed, nothing has changed."
In the last 18 months in Hastings, the community saw five drug overdose-related deaths, Wilske said.
Police in Rochester seized 7,000 fentanyl pills last month and earlier this year, federal officials seized 30,000 grams of fentanyl when they busted a Twin Cities drug ring. It was the largest fentanyl bust in Minnesota history with enough dosage to kill everyone in Minnesota twice over.