May 5, 2021 Mark Zuckerberg Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Facebook Inc. 1 Hacker Way Menlo Park, CA 94025 Dear Mr. Zuckerberg, I write to you deeply concerned about the role Facebook, along with other social media companies, is playing in the crisis at the Southwest border. Specifically, Facebook has provided a means by which human smugglers and cartels are spreading false information and openly advertising illicit smuggling services that encourages foreign nationals to break the immigration laws of the United States. I take issue when Facebook and other social media platforms actively silence conservatives and “shadow ban” individuals with views that are not supported by employees of your company. However, Facebook’s role in the crisis at the border is urgent and must be addressed immediately. I was in McAllen, Texas, just a few weeks ago meeting with Border Patrol Agents to discuss factors that are contributing to the crisis at the Southwest border of the United States. Among other issues, I was informed that cartels and human smugglers, also known as coyotes, use Facebook to post paid advertisements that encourage foreign nationals to cross the United States border illegally. I myself, heard from migrants who had been smuggled into the U.S. by the cartels that they had not only seen advertisements on Facebook but they had used the platform to arrange payments for illicit smuggling services and other logistical details. Within the last month, more than 50 pages on Facebook have been found that are offering “illegal crossing” services
. Attached to this letter are screenshots from my phone of Facebook pages I was able to find by simply searching for the terms “Cruze frontera a EUA” or “Viajar a Estados Unidos.” Even more troubling was the fact that as people visited these pages, myself included, that Facebook then provided additional posts and pages of related illegal content. I was both shocked and appalled to learn that even after my colleague Representative Buddy Carter (GA-01) asked you about this very issue in a hearing before the Energy and Commerce Committee just a month earlier
, this problem persists.
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You claimed these posts are against Facebook’s policies, but the advertisements are clearly continuing to be posted. It is unacceptable for an American company to allow a criminal enterprise to use your platform to freely encourage and facilitate criminal activity. Consequently, I urge you to immediately prevent these advertisements from being posted on Facebook’s platform. Moreover, I request that you provide to my office in writing the specific actions Facebook has taken to prevent the platform from being used in such a manner by May 14, 2021. Facebook clearly has no problem monitoring and censoring conservative voices on a daily basis, so I am confident your company has the capabilities and resources to detect and prevent criminal enterprises from posting content that encourages and facilitates illicit activity. I look forward to your prompt response to these concerns and issues. Sincerely, Kat Cammack Member of Congress