Social networking giant Facebookannounced Friday that it would ban the private sale of guns on its site, and on its photo-sharing platform Instagram.
Although the site itself does not act as a retailer of firearms, it has allowed users to sell guns on Facebook pages or in Instagram posts. The new prohibitions will affect only private and person-to-person sales, and not licensed gun sellers.
“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,” said Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of product policy. “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.”
Those policies already prohibit trade in marijuana, prescription pills and other illicit substances. Firearms are now to be added to the list.
A New York Times report cites increased pressure from the Obama administration and gun safety groups to stem the tide of posts soliciting guns as reason for Facebook’s decision.
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