Meta is urged by state AGs to boost enforcement of weight-loss drug ads

More than three dozen state attorneys general are urging Meta to better enforce its policies to thwart a “surge of misleading” pharmaceutical and wellness ads for weight loss drugs on Instagram and Facebook. And the state officials also want the company to take additional measures to prevent AI-generated content in the ads.

In a letter to Meta, they cite company policies indicating pharmaceutical advertisers are supposed to share information about the medical effectiveness and affordability of their medicines and target only adults. The state officials also cited policies that say health and wellness ads should not push a “perfect” body type or provide side-by-side comparisons.  

Yet Instagram and Facebook are “replete with ads that conflict with these policies,” the bipartisan group of attorneys general wrote in their letter to the company. They also complained that the platforms mislead consumers about the risks of compounded versions of the wildly popular weight loss drugs.