WASHINGTON – June 9, 2020 – The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP Global) issued the following statement in response to yesterday’s joint announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of a new pilot program to help stop the illegal sale of opioids online:

ASOP Global commends the FDA and NTIA for their ongoing leadership to address the dual public health crises of illegal online drug sales and opioid use disorder in the United States. This pilot program is an important step toward curbing access to deadly opioids and other illicit narcotics online and a powerful example of interagency cooperation between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Commerce. We congratulate and cheer FDA and NTIA on this novel collaboration and hope that this partnership results in another tool to curtail these illegal actions.

While the pilot is a strong step in the right direction, pilots and promises are not enough to fully protect patients. More needs to be done to stop domain name registries and registrars from putting patient health and safety at risk – and profiting from it. Criminals buy domain names in bulk and weaponize them to launch endless anonymous scams and cyberattacks globally – profiting from their infinite supply of websites. We hope that the results of the FDA-NTIA pilot program will help demonstrate the value of the trusted notifier process and encourage Congress and the Administration to develop a framework that would further require registries and registrars to lock and suspend domain names that facilitate illegal online drug sales and fuel the opioid epidemic.

ASOP Global looks forward to remaining a resource for the FDA, NTIA, Congress, and the Administration as they work to curb the illegal sale of controlled substances and other prescription drugs online appearing via search results, social media and e-commerce sites. We support these policymakers’ efforts to demand more from the domain name industry as such is critical protect Americans’ health and safety online.

Please visit ASOP Global’s website for additional information on internet accountability.

###

ABOUT ASOP GLOBAL

The Alliance for Safe Online Pharmacies (ASOP Global), a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. with activities in U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America and Asia, is dedicated to protecting consumers around the world, ensuring safe access to medications, and combating illegal online drug sellers.