Landry-Frey Coalition Calls for Online Platforms to Crack
Down on Illegal Sales
BATON ROUGE, LA – A bipartisan coalition of 46 state and
territory Attorneys General – led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey – called on Facebook, Craigslist, and eBay to
take proactive measures against alcohol sales on their platforms which
frequently violate state laws and could pose health risks.
“As we have seen recently with vaping and opioids,
adolescents are finding new ways to purchase contraband online,” said Attorney
General Landry. “These widely-used online platforms have a responsibility to
implement meaningful systems and programs that proactively address this problem
and keep our children safe.”
In letters to the online platforms, the Attorneys General
argue that “everyone has an ethical and moral responsibility to protect
consumers, especially those who are most vulnerable to fraud.” They note that
the 21st Amendment invests the right to regulate the sale of alcohol to each
state and point out concerns that unlicensed, unregulated, and untaxed alcohol
sales are taking place on digital platforms.
“The black-market products sold on these platforms may be
counterfeit or tainted, sometimes with harmful health effects,” warned General
Landry. “So together – Republican and Democrat – we want to solve this problem
and make our jurisdictions safer places to live, work, and raise families.”
The Attorneys General ask Facebook, Craigslist, and eBay to
review the current content posted to the companies’ websites and remove any
illegal postings for the sales and/or transfer of alcohol products. They also
ask the platforms to work to develop and deploy programming to block and
prevent their platform users from violating state law by posting content for
the sale and distribution of alcohol products on their websites.
Joining General Landry and General Frey in signing the letters are the
Attorneys General of Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico,
Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont,
Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.