Why is this important?
The Washington Post recently reported that users can violate Facebook’s ban on gun sales 10 times before being removed from the platform. This lax system is part of Facebook’s failure to enforce their own policies in ways that actually protect our communities. Facebook must implement a zero tolerance ban on gun sales.
Facebook is at it again. This time with the internet’s worst interpretation of a “ban.”
The Washington Post recently reported that even though Facebook prohibits gun sales on its service, buyers and sellers can violate the policy 10 times before they are removed from the platform.1
This is an incredibly dangerous and ineffective policy from Facebook, especially in the wake of recent gun violence across the U.S.
Facebook maintains that they are doing all they can to prohibit gun sales on their website. But the company is ignoring that the platform makes it easy for people to privately sell and buy anything they want. In the case of gun sales, this unchecked activity can lead to devastating offline violence.
Facebook’s 10-strike rule on gun sales is just one part of a bigger problem: lack of transparency and enforcement of their own policies. We should not have to wait for reporting to reveal what rules Facebook is setting that ultimately affect our lives offline, whether we are Facebook users or not.
Facebook needs to know that we demand real enforcement of their policies. Our safety depends on it.
Sources:
1. “Facebook’s ban on gun sales gives sellers 10 strikes before booting them,” The Washington Post, June 9, 2022.
