The growing influence of social media is impossible to ignore.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have been part of our daily lives for a long time now.
They keep us in touch, up to date with the latest news and allow us to keep track of our favourite celebrities.
But they are not being run just for our benefit. They are massive, multi-billion-pound corporations.
And, of course, they have their dark sides.
Undue influence in politics and the sharing of personal data, just for starters.
The world recoiled in horror last week when footage from the New Zealand terror attack was uploaded to social media platforms in all its horrific detail.
There was the usual reaction from politicians and commentators: “More must be done to regulate these companies.”
But we’ve been hearing that for a while. And nothing’s happened.
The Internet’s Dirtiest Secrets: Workers paid 70p an hour to clean up porn and terrorism
You have to wonder what these companies have to do before the authorities clamp down on them.
Today we bring you the horrifying news that Instagram and Facebook are driving the new deadly drug craze that is sweeping the nation.
Use of the anti-anxiety pill Xanax has soared among youngsters. And it is being sold for less than £1 by social media sites.
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners has said
internet firms are only just waking up to the fact they need to do more heavy regulations, more investments in staff to protect against violations of their rules.
Failing that, the government should hit these firms where it hurts.
Facebook had annual revenue of more than £42billion last year.
If it can’t regulate itself properly, then why not take a slice of that to invest in policing, drug rehabilitation, education and the NHS?
