It’s no secret that Facebook doesn’t have the best reputation when it comes to user privacy. However, the company has labored in recent years to prove to the public that it genuinely wants to protect our private information. But even some of these steps have proven controversial. For instance, when the social media giant expanded its private groups feature, many law enforcement officials criticized the platform for providing cover for criminal activity. And that’s exactly what happened earlier this week when Chicago police announced a two-year investigation into the sale of illegal drugs and guns on the site.

According to Chicago police, Facebook has effectively “emboldened” criminals on its platform by not doing enough to shut down their activity.

“Facebook often cites privacy concerns when they are confronted with the facts of our investigation,” First Deputy Superintendent Anthony Riccio told the Associated Press. “The truth is, Facebook is harboring criminals. These criminals know how to use the privacy Facebook affords them and they profit from the sales of illegal drugs and dangerous guns.”

Of course, Facebook strongly disputed the notion that it isn’t doing enough, noting that it removes 97 percent of drug sale content and 93 percent of gun sale content before it’s even reported. However, that still leaves many thousands of cases where Facebook has not detected the criminal posts — and that’s a pretty big problem.

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