The online market is dwarfing gun shows when it comes to firearms sales without background checks. Now, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and gun control groups have partnered with Facebook and Instagram. The social network has agreed to delete posts from users that circumvent gun laws.
After an extensive review by the New York State Attorney General's office, the world's largest social network is taking concrete steps to prevent online gun sales. Only 15 states and Washington D.C. currently require background checks, and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says without them, it's illegal to sell a gun in the Empire State. "We have seen the terrible consequences of letting people who should not have guns have access to guns. The names ring out as reminders of unspeakable tragedy. Columbine. Virginia Tech. Newtown. Gun violence has taken and continues to take a horrific toll across the nation. It's important to note that many of the same types of guns that were used in some of these shootings are advertised on social media sites... So, it has been too easy for practically anyone to go onto one of these sites, pick out a gun, and contact the seller to negotiate a price. It is important to note that Facebook and Instagram are not ecommerce sites. You cannot actually purchase a gun on Facebook or Instagram, but, because they're such enormous platforms with so much communication, they provided an open marketplace that really allowed anyone, including minors, felons and people with mental disabilities to exchanges information."
It should be noted that mega ecommerce sites eBay and Craigslist prohibit the sale of weapons. And Facebook will take action against illegal gun transactions only when a member of its community alerts it. Monika Bickert, Facebook’s Head of Global Policy Management, says the social network continues to "work to find the right approach... we're focusing on four main areas. We're raising awareness that these goods are often regulated by law. We're helping people educate themselves about the laws that might apply to them. We're restricting a variety of content to people over the age of 18. And then finally, anytime we see a post or content that suggests an intention to evade the law, we're gonna remove that content."
Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, Leah Gunn Barrett, hopes the Facebook agreement will be a starting point for an ongoing dialogue between law enforcement and social media so that public safety is enhanced and not harmed. "We hope that this announcement by facebook will jolt congress into finally taking some responsibility and action for the public safety of all Americans and to pass a federal law requiring a background check on gun sales because this is really what would help enhance the safety of Americans across this country and start to address the terrible scourge of gun violence."
Schneiderman explains the agreement was carefully drafted to ensure that Facebook can do the right things without crossing any lines. "No one is having their first amendment rights violated. And some of the things they're doing are automatic: the 18-or-over is automatic, searches for hashtags that are going to enable people to find this very quickly are there. It's not that hard for folks in law enforcement or for activists to 'read and report' and I think there's not gonna be a problem of having a lot of people scrutinizing this who area ctive on the issue and can flag blatantly illegal conduct... Facebook has 1.3 billion people on it. It is a massively successful, important social network. And this is an opportunity for those of us who care about this issue to engage with the company to get this done, but there is NO concern, on our part, certainly having drafted this agreement, that there's any legal liability or that there's gonna be any problem having enough people search it."
The new Facebook and Instagram policies will be rolled out over the next few weeks.
