Facebook bans private sales of weapons on its social network that boasts over 1.5 billion and a half of users on the photo-sharing service Instagram owned by him. Facebook has indeed updated its rules of use in which it is now explicitly indicated that it is forbidden for users who are not authorized dealers, using Facebook and Instagram for to sell weapons or negotiate transactions between individuals.
“Over the past two years, more and more ‘people use Facebook to find products or buy things with each other,” said Monika Bickert, head of product policies of Facebook. “We update our rules for regulated products to reflect this evolution.”
The ban on selling weapons through Facebook, which is applied only to the transitions between private companies and non-licensed, joins the already ‘banned sale of illegal drugs and pharmaceuticals. Companies with license can continue to put the catalog, and promote products on Facebook.
The social networks are not only used by terrorists to communicate, but it turned out that they are also used for the sale of illegal products, as weapons. Facebook has been under heavy pressure from the administration and the attorneys general of the states to stop Facebook posts and messages on Instagram for arms sales before following the massacre at the school in Sandy Hook in Newtown, in Connecticut, in December 2012, where they were murdered 20 children and 6 adults, and then after the attack in San Bernardino, California, Dec. 2, in which two terrorists killed 14 people and injured more ‘than 20 with weapons purchased legally in the United States.
Although Facebook was not directly involved in the sale of weapons, has served as a place for the distance selling of illegal weapons, without that buyers SHOULD SUBMIT checks. The Social Network, with nearly 1.6 billion monthly visitors, had become one of the largest markets in the world for guns, as reported by the New York Times .
Facebook He said it would rely on his vast network of users to report any violations of the new rules, and intends to delete posts that violate. Apart from this, the company said it could restrict users or severely limit the ways in which publish on Facebook, depending on the type and severity of past violations. If the company has evidence that somebody’s life is in danger, Facebook could work with the police to resolve the situation.
The New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, who lobbied for the application of restrictions on sales of illegal guns on Facebook and other sites, praised the new rules of the company: “Today’s announcement is another positive step towards our common goal to stop the sale of illegal weapons online once and for all, “he said in a statement.
In March 2014, Facebook has restricted sales of firearms, such as blocking minors from viewing messages on arms sales and asking Facebook pages used to promote the private sale of goods and services to include language that remind users to respect the laws. Over the past two years, a survey by VentureBeat found that adults and children were connected to Facebook to find pages that were selling firearms at times in violation of federal laws.
Now, therefore, users of Facebook and Instagram is prohibited to sell or buy privately firearms, and even parts of weapons and ammunition. It remains banned trade also marijuana, drugs and illegal drugs.