The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna hosted a technical consultation meeting on “Social Media and Drug Use Prevention.” The event brought together international experts, Member States, academicians, tool developers, and youth representatives to explore the role of social media platforms and tech companies in preventing drug use in a rapidly digitalizing world. The main focus of the meeting was to share knowledge and experiences related to social media-based prevention responses and research for drug use prevention on digital platforms.
The meeting took place within the context of the Prevent Alliance, a public- private partnership designed to disrupt illicit drug activity online and amplify public awareness of the dangers and health risks of synthetic drug misuse. This partnership between the U.S. State Department, Meta Platforms Inc., Snap, and X Corp. invited the technical and scientific support of UNODC to guide efforts forward.
This initiative is particularly timely given the rapid expansion of social media and its vast global reach, with millions of users, especially among youth. As young people increasingly engage with social platforms, they are exposed to various vulnerabilities, including the risk of initiating drug use and other negative behaviours. This initiative recognizes the urgent need to mitigate these vulnerabilities and focuses on exchanging experiences on developing resilience among youth, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to resist drug use and navigate social media safely.
The meeting was also the first step into filling a crucial gap in the absence of evidence-based prevention strategies designed for social media platforms. It served as a valuable platform where experts and academicians presented their latest research, while tool developers and practitioners shared their practices and lessons learned. Representatives from social media platforms reflected on how they can contribute to the process. UNODC in turn assessed the current state of knowledge to explore ways to unify these efforts under the umbrella of science.
Twenty experts from 11 countries participated in the Consultation that was attended by more than 200 participants from 40 Member States both in person and online.
Highlighting the importance of public-private partnerships in finding innovative solutions for drug use prevention on social media, the Department of State’s Special Representative for Global Partnerships Ms. Dorothy McAuliffe emphasized that the convergence of technology and sales of drugs has amplified public health challenges, especially for young people. To address these, it is crucial to foster innovative collaborations between public and private sectors. The Special Representative stressed that social media tech companies, with the support of the UNODC, must work together to keep drugs out of digital spaces, ensuring these platforms remain safe for all users, especially vulnerable ones.
Mr. Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director of the UNODC Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, in turn highlighted the fact that unlike the real universe, social media-based interventions “can reach far much further, and for much more swiftly, a wider and geographical set of beneficiaries in a more targeted manner.
Representatives from social media platforms, Mr. Ernest Voyard, Director, Public Policy, Meta and Mr. Viraj Doshi, Platform Safety Lead, Snap, expressed the tech companies’ readiness to support the success of this initiative in finding innovative and evidence-based approaches to help tackle this problem.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Justice Tettey, Chief, Drugs Laboratory and Scientific Services Branch reiterated the importance of such an initiative for all young people, especially those for which vulnerabilities are higher and infrastructure of responses might be weaker. The proceedings of the Consultation will be summarized in a Key Insights document to be published by the end of 2024.
