The Cooper Davis and Devin Norring Act would require social media platforms to account for illegal drug transactions on their platforms

On Tuesday at 10 a.m., U.S. Representative Angie Craig and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced a bill aimed at preventing drug trafficking on social media platforms.

The two were joined at a news conference by Bridgette Norring, whose son Devin died of fentanyl poisoning after purchasing a counterfeit pill he thought was Percocet on Snapchat.

Klobuchar began the press conference by discussing the dangers fentanyl poses to individuals, saying that 92 percent of opioid deaths are caused by fentanyl. She also discussed the alarming amount of the drug, saying that a recent drug bust uncovered 30,000 grams of fentanyl during the bust of a drug ring in the Twin Cities.

“That’s enough pills in one arrest to kill every Minnesotan twice over,” Klobuchar said. “That’s the danger we’re talking about with this drug.”

Klobuchar said social media has increased the risk of illegal drug use among children, with a number of cases starting on social media, whether organized on platforms or advertised.

In an effort to combat online drug sales, U.S. Rep. Craig is sponsoring new legislation called the Cooper Davis and Devin Norring Act. If passed, the bill would require social media sites to report the illegal sale or distribution of counterfeit fentanyl, methamphetamine, or other controlled substances.

“Synthetic opioids are a national crisis and we’re not talking about it enough. We’re not doing enough to address it as a nation,” Craig said. “We need to go after the distributors who are preying on our young children.”

Craig also called for more technology to be used at the border to detect the presence of fentanyl, for harm reduction tools like NARCAN to be made more readily available, and for the “good work” being done to continue to be expanded, such as expanding education about the dangers of drugs.

Bridgette Norring, Devin Norring’s mother, took the stand to tell her son’s story. Bridgette said Devin suffered from migraines and dental pain during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an attempt to ease his pain after his doctor’s appointments were canceled, he turned to Snapchat, according to Bridgette, buying a pill he thought was Percocet, but it contained a deadly amount of fentanyl.

“It was after he died that we discovered he was using SnapChat,” Bridgette said. “We now know that social media platforms are the primary place where young people are purchasing all kinds of drugs, and while most of them are not sold as illicit fentanyl, many of them do contain it.”

Bridgette expressed the shock and sadness she and her family felt over her son's death, as well as anger and frustration that “nothing has changed” since Devin's death. Bridgette hopes that this new law, named after her son, will be passed and will hold social media platforms accountable for what happens on their platforms.

“We should all be angry at these companies that are knowingly harming our children because it makes them money, and big tech companies are also spending a lot of money behind the scenes trying to avoid regulation,” Bridgette said. “The time for talk is over, it’s time for action.”

You can watch the original press conference in the video above or by clicking here.