Over 238 million people in the United States scroll through social media, often unaware of the harmful content the many platforms possess. Chris Didier, airforce pilot, airline pilot and most importantly, father, lost his son, Zach Didier, at the age of 17 to fentanyl that was sold to him on Snapchat under the pretense of being the prescription painkiller Percocet. Didier has turned to advocate for an update to current laws. These laws protect social media from being held accountable for what is posted on their platforms. He argues that the internet has changed since the 1990s and that there needs to be more regulation and revisions made to laws concerning social media.

“The entire industry of social media is pretty dangerous because of the fact that there’s very little to no regulation. And so we need to update legislation to make it more regulatory,” Didier said.

He and Zach’s mother, Laura Didier, have been working tirelessly to educate others on the dangers of fentanyl, partnering with schools and other organizations to share their story in hopes of preventing more fentanyl related deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, death by synthetic opioids like fentanyl has risen by 38.1% and is the leading factor of overdose deaths. Fentanyl laced drugs are often bought off of the internet and social media websites under the pretense of being pharmaceutical drugs.

As of Oct. 24, Chris Didier has spoken at 106 school assemblies, 58 parent info nights and testified for 15 different Senate or assembly bills in California in support of measures to bring online safety or to to promote accountability to a person who’s been convicted of a drug crime. Didier has dedicated himself to learning and educating others about fentanyl and the crisis that surrounds its unchecked distribution.

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“I just want to keep kids safe. That’s my North Star, my Polaris. My North Star is to get the message out to a young person walking around with a cell phone in their hand that there are predators online who want to do harm and take advantage of you, and It’s not fair to you,” Didier said.

One thing that Didier is focusing on is the Communications Decency Act (CDA), statute 230 C from 1996. According to CDA, section 230 C, social media platforms cannot be legally held accountable for what others post on their platforms. The social media industry has a liability shield, it’s one of the only industries that has a federal statute that prevents the companies from being sued.

Section 230 was created during the early internet. Since 1996, social media platforms have advanced to be more user-generated. Section 230 was created in hopes to promote free speech, grow internet usage and also allow companies to moderate their own platforms.
Social media platforms have also made it easier for people to access others through their profiles. Though useful for the average social media user, it has also opened doors that increase the distribution of illicit drugs and sexual content, making them more accessible.

“As the investigator of all the harms that are inflicted on our children today, there is a social me. There’s a lot of harms, harms such as human trafficking, forced labor, forced sex, child sexual abuse, deep fake porn, sextorsion, eating disorders, extreme cyber bullying, suicide, illicit drug trafficking, all that’s just an even few and it is irrefutable online,” Didier said at the Nov. 12th, 1 Pill Can Kill event held by the Placer County District Attoneys office at Whitney High School.

Both Laura and Chris Didier were present at the ‘1 Pill Can Kill’ event on Nov. 12, as panel members. The event was a premiere for a clip conveying a story of a young boy which is meant to raise awareness towards the fentanyl crisis.

Didier is not alone in his fight against social media. Along with those present at the 1 Pill Can Kill event, he is also an executive board member for a family run non-profit organization called Victims of Illicit Drugs, also known as VOID. VOID’s mission is to spread awareness of the dangers of illicit drugs, with an emphasis on fentanyl. The organization is working to provide knowledge and preventative tools to help reduce the number of deaths from illicit drugs in our society.

Didier works with other grieving families. Additionally, he continues to speak to schools, at the California state capitol and at the White House to talk about his missions to educate others on the dangers of illicit drugs and his fight to provide more safety regulations on platforms.

“Through both education and enforcement, we were pouring our hearts into our schools, trying to educate and working with the school district, trying to just talk about the dangers associated with this poison, and we’ll continue to do that,” Didier said.