A MEDIA watchdog has accused Meta of enabling the sale of high-capacity gun parts and ammunition on their platforms.
Media Matters for America found that Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shopping allow the sale of gun materials and profit through related advertising buys.
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Meta’s commerce policy flatly states “Listings may not promote the buying, selling, or use of weapons, ammunition, and explosives.”
But a Media Matters report found all the pieces necessary for assembling an AR-15 can be bought on Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shopping.
Many of the deadliest shootings to date have been carried out by a perpetrator armed with an AR-15, including the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
The second-hand markets platformed by Meta also have listings or ads for obscure and dangerous products like a flamethrower, magazine loaders, and gun giveaway contests.
Some of the gun components flagged by Media Matters landed in a gray area of e-commerce regulation due to the fact they were incomplete.
“We found a listing for an unfinished, so-called “80%” lower receiver on Facebook Marketplace, which may fall short of qualifying as a firearm under federal law because it’s incomplete,” Camden Carter and Spencer Silva wrote for Media Matters.
“However, with a few modifications using tools that can be bought at any hardware store, someone could easily turn this into part of a fully operational weapon.”
Brady United, a non-profit tackling gun violence, said that assembling guns from pieces does not require “specialized skill“.
Worse yet, Carter and Silver found posts for guides on how to construct an AR-15 from scratch and modify parts for more efficiency when firing.
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Meta claims to be self-regulating and scuttling attempts to violate the terms of their policy prohibiting weapons sales.
“We take action if we detect—or are made aware of—anyone attempting to circumvent this policy, including by banning the seller from our platforms and applying penalties to their account,” a Meta spokesperson told The Guardian.
However, a collection of ads clocked by Media Matters showcase an outright disregard for the policy.
An ad for an AR-15 raffle contest was posted by Sheriff Lamb, an Arizona law enforcement officer with 350,000 followers.
Facebook generated $114billion dollars in advertising revenue in 2021.
Meta’s inaction is exacerbating America’s gun problem – guns made from the parts found on Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shopping are blind spots for law enforcement and citizens.
Meta’s extremism-friendly tendencies and history of failures coming at the expense of the user have forced millions to reevaluate if they want to log on.
