Weekly Story

Instagram acts after BBC finds site users are advertising illegal drugs

The photo sharing service Instagram has taken steps to block certain hashtags because users are trying to sale illegal drugs via its users. Millions of people use Instagram now because that is a social networking site where they post and comment on photographs and videos. The BBC have found out that people are trying to sell illegal drugs, they found out that people are advertising their sales. Most of the drugs appear to be taken place in the US according to the BBCTrending. One ad posted below an image of bags of marijuana said: "Just getting a few packs ready for tomorrow morning … Place your order today, it gets shipped out at 8am tomorrow." Another photo displayed a selection of pills with the caption: "$2 a pop for xans, $10 a pop for roxys " – a reference to Xanax, a psychoactive anxiety treatment, and Roxicodone, an opiate used to treat pain. The BBC reported that many deals were finalised via instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp or Kik, allowing messages to be kept private.

My view: 

I think this is a very bad influence on the young people who are using Instagram and I think that Instagram should act ASAP! because they don't want the young users to see the images because it could be very harmful to them. Instagram could also be in a risk of closing the whole network down. Facebook need to block these kinds of users from not using Instagram because it could get worse if they do not act to it.