Brilio.net/en - Welcome to the party, Facebook. In light of much debate in the United States, Facebook will ban the person-to-person sale of guns on its network. While licensed gun dealers and gun clubs can still lawfully post and advertise their products on the social media network, the new policy will prevent illegal gun trade as Facebook has become one of the main platforms for obtaining weapons. While the tech company wasnt directly involved with the transactions, it served as a method of people to obtain their guns without having to conduct background checks, with some posts even actively advertising no background checks necessary. According to the New York Times, the social network became the largest marketplace for guns in 2014.
Facebook has already banned the trade of illicit substances such as pharmaceuticals and marijuana, and weapons were the natural next step, considering the growing amount of shootings and weapons based accidents. Furthermore, the New York general attorney Eric Schneiderman, who spearheaded Mayors Against Illegal Guns and the advocacy group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense, put some pressure on the California company to update its policy, after gun arrests were tied to sales facilitated through Facebook.
The issue raises questions over first amendment laws. In American, under the Bill of Rights, all citizens are guaranteed the right to free speech and the freedom of press. While Faceboook will be limiting what people can say, Facebook representatives claim that it is a fair compromise between safety and free speech. The National Rifle Association (NRA) did not immediately make comments on the policy change.
Over the last two years, more and more people have been using Facebook to discover products and to buy and sell things to one another, Monika Bickert, Facebooks head of product policy, said in a statement. We are continuing to develop, test, and launch new products to make this experience even better for people and are updating our regulated goods policies to reflect this evolution.
(Reported by: Ivana Lucic)