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NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Justice Minister criticises Meta over drug ads on Facebook Marketplace
Magic mushrooms have been advertised for sale in locations across the North Island on Facebook Marketplace. Photo / Meta / Facebook Marketplace A Bay of Plenty man said he made dozens of complaints over several weeks about the listings, but Meta took no action and the ads remained active. It was only when the Herald contacted Meta on Thursday that a spokeswoman said many listings had been removed and Meta was continuing to review the situation. 'Meta has removed numerous Facebook Marketplace ads promoting the sale of illicit drugs for violating community standards,' the spokeswoman told the Herald. One ad showed what appeared to be a sheet of LSD tabs. Photo / Meta / Facebook Marketplace However, by Friday morning, dozens of listings offering mushrooms, gummies and edible psychedelics had resurfaced with links to Telegram accounts offering other class A substances. Speaking to Michael Morrah on Herald NOW, Goldsmith said it was 'outrageous' and he would be contacting Meta. 'As Justice Minister I'll be asking some tough questions about how this is happening, and what's going on. This [not preventing illegal drug sales] is something they should be doing better on, and we'll be making that very clear to them.' He said it raised questions about whether law changes were needed to make Meta more accountable. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says he will be asking Meta some tough questions about listings for class A drugs surfacing on Facebook Marketplace. Photo / Mark Mitchell Concerns have been raised about tech barons hiding behind a provision in telecommunications legislation called exclusion of liability that protected them from third-party content posted on their platforms. Goldsmith, who's also Broadcasting Minister, said making changes in that area had global ramifications. 'In terms of the broader relationship with Meta, and all those big [tech] companies, we do need to put pressure on but also be mindful of the global context.' Labour MP Willie Jackson says companies like Meta should be made accountable. Photo / Mark Mitchell Labour's Willie Jackson was highly critical of the failures exposed by the Herald's investigation. Asked on Herald NOW if Meta was running roughshod over the rules and didn't care, he agreed. 'Absolutely, it's an indictment on them,' he said. 'This is just an absolute disgrace. It shows the arrogance of these companies that they can get away with this.' Jackson said companies like Meta should be made accountable, rules should be imposed and he accused Goldsmith of 'not doing anything'. 'Look at the billions they're taking out of this country, and [they have] no regard at all.' Some of the magic mushrooms that have appeared for sale in New Zealand on Facebook Marketplace. Photo / Meta / Facebook Marketplace Meta's spokeswoman said the company enforces its policies, including a prohibition against the promotion or sale of illegal drugs, through a combination of reports from users, human review and artificial intelligence. She said the company recently updated its community standards to prevent precursor chemicals that could be used to make drugs from being sold. She also said any violation involving the sale of drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine or heroin, will result in accounts being disabled. However, Massey University public health researcher Dr Robin van der Sanden didn't think targeting sellers of illegal drugs was a priority for Meta. She said the company was 'walking this tight rope' between doing enough to stave off the regulators but not being so restrictive that it loses users to other platforms. 'So that does kind of undermine their willingness to prioritise tackling things like illegal activity on the platform because their priority really is the money-making aspect of it,' she said. Facebook reported making $7.59 million in New Zealand last year, which was down from profits in previous years. Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald's video team in July 2024.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
56 drug ads on Facebook Marketplace: Delayed action from Meta sparks concern
In a single day, the Herald found 56 different ads for psychedelic mushrooms – a class A controlled drug – being promoted for sale all over the North Island, including Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Wellington and the Tasman district. The Herald also saw ads for cannabis and what appeared to be LSD. What appeared to be a sheet of LSD was pictured for sale alongside magic mushrooms. Photo / Meta / Facebook Marketplace The publicly accessible ads, most of which show images of vacuum-packed plastic bags of dried mushrooms or mushroom caps packaged inside chocolate bar wrappers, invite users to connect with the seller on the encrypted messaging app Telegram where a 'full menu' of products is supplied. One full menu seen by the Herald offered the advertised psychedelics, as well as many other drugs like cocaine, MDMA, LSD, and ketamine. Magic mushrooms advertised for sale in locations across the North Island on Facebook Marketplace. Photo / Meta / Facebook Marketplace A Bay of Plenty man who asked to remain anonymous told the Herald he made 'hundreds' of reports to Meta notifying them of suspect accounts over several weeks. He claimed the listings remained active and the only response he got was an automated reply thanking him for making Facebook Marketplace a safer place to trade. 'I can't believe it's happening,' he said. The Herald's informant said he felt compelled to complain to Meta after a family friend was admitted to hospital after overdosing on mushrooms. A source told the Herald he flagged dozens of ads for magic mushrooms with Meta and claims no action was taken. 'He was seriously ill, in a coma for several days, and his parents actually thought they might lose him.' Given the number of ads and drug quantities pictured, the Herald's informant believed many sellers were running 'commercial' operations. The Marketplace listings offer discreet pick up or delivery of drugs and the Herald's source believed that given the blatant way they were sold on an open platform it put children at risk. The Herald found 56 different ads for illegal drugs on Facebook Marketplace in a single day. Photo / Meta / Facebook Marketplace 'Anyone can look on Marketplace, whether you're 10 years old or 50 years old,' he said. He claims the situation became even more absurd when - while the ads peddling drugs stayed online despite his complaints - he was sanctioned by Meta when trying to sell an old dart board. 'Within a few days of putting it on Facebook Marketplace, I was sent a warning that I was trying to sell a dangerous weapon,' he said. Cannabis advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Some of the ads invited customers to switch to an encrypted app for the "full menu" of drugs. Photo / Meta / Facebook Marketplace He said he believes Meta's systems were failing. 'When you can be flagged and threatened for trying to sell a dartboard and yet drugs are openly being sold, it just doesn't make sense.' A Meta spokeswoman said the company acted after inquiries from the Herald and deleted the offending ads. 'Our escalations team has removed many Facebook Marketplace ads because of your inquiry and is continuing to review further,' the spokeswoman said. 'Surprising and ironic' NZ Drug Foundation NZ executive director Sarah Helm. 29 August 2024. Photo supplied The New Zealand Drug Foundation has also faced problems with Meta flagging its drug safety content as problematic. The foundation is contracted by Health New Zealand to provide drug checking clinics, promote harm reduction and addiction support information, and support schools with student wellbeing. Executive director Sarah Helm told the Herald it's not right that drugs can be openly listed for sale while public health information is flagged and disallowed. 'We know the algorithms actually suppress some of our content' she said. She said mushrooms can have fatal consequences if consumed in high doses and urged caution. 'I would encourage people if they've purchased any illicit drug ... to come to a drug checking clinic and get their substance checked,' she said. The latest drug trends survey from researchers at Massey University noted a rise in social media being used to purchase all types of drugs, particularly MDMA and cannabis. Meta: 'Numerous' ads removed Facebook owner Meta has removed "numerous" ads for illegal drugs listed across New Zealand after being approached by the Herald. Photo / Supplied Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, was unable to say why the listings were only taken down when the Herald made inquiries. The tech company said it enforces its policies - including a prohibition against the promotion or sale of illegal drugs - through a combination of reports from users, human review and artificial intelligence. It's not clear what happened following the reports filed by the Herald's source, or if a human or robot reviewed the complaints. Meta removed "numerous" illegal listings after being contacted by the Herald. Photo / Meta / Facebook Marketplace A Meta spokesperson said 'numerous' offending ads had now been deleted. 'Meta has removed numerous Facebook Marketplace ads promoting the sale of illicit drugs for violating our Community Standards. We will continue to proactively detect and enforce against these types of listings,' a spokeswoman said. Meta has also recently updated its community standards to prevent precursor chemicals that could be used to make drugs being sold and said any violation involving the sale of drugs including fentanyl, cocaine or heroin, will result in accounts being disabled. Facebook reported making $7.59m in New Zealand last year, which was a dip in profits on previous years. Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald's video team in July 2024.
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Danny Doolans musician allegedly assaults football player at live performance in Auckland pub
Irish pub Danny Doolans has condemned the actions of one of its musicians after he struck a female football player in the head with his drumstick. A video obtained by the Herald shows the incident at the popular venue on Auckland's viaduct occurred on July 13, around midnight. The
