Facebook Cracks Down on Gun Posts with New Regulations

Facebook Cracks Down on Gun Posts with New Regulations

  • By Ginger Hill
  • Mar 06, 2014

Facebook cracks down on gun postWhen it comes to anything security related, I try to stay as up-to-date as possible, but honestly, selling guns on Facebook and Instagram?! I find this odd because that’s the last place I would look if I wanted to buy anything online, choosing to find my bargains at places like Etsy.com, Amazon and sometimes, Ebay. Besides, what happened to needing a background check to purchase a gun? Or, what about having to be a licensed firearms dealer to sell them? How do you virtually check either of these? Impossible.

Social network giant, Facebook, has outlined some new rules to stop users from illegally promoting the sale of private firearms on their network by:

  • Limiting posts on Facebook and Instagram that discuss the sale of firearms to users that are over 18 years of age; (easy to manipulate your age when signing up for a Facebook account)
  • Preventing the posting of offers to sell regulated items that would help people evade the law; (Who or what technology is going to be used to actively police such a large network?)
  • Warning people promoting the private sale of weapons to comply with relevant laws; (Most people skip over warning messages anyway); and
  • Introducing “in-app education” on Instagram that will remind firearm sellers to check their local laws to make sure transactions are legitimate. (Are people really going to pay attention to this?)

Facebook worked with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Sandy Hook Promise, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America to develop these new regulations; however, opposition groups are saying that Facebook caved from the pressure of the aforementioned groups and that these new policies unconstitutionally limit the rights of gun owners.

Okay, readers, it’s time for you to voice your opinion.

Do you agree with Facebook’s new policies as it relates to firearms? Or, do you think that even with these regulations, if someone really wanted to purchase a firearm, they are going to do it anyway?

Do you think Facebook’s new regulations violate your Second Amendment rights?

Image credit: Thinglass / Shutterstock.com

About the Author

Ginger Hill is Group Social Media Manager.

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