Facebook to delete posts for illegal gun sales

Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y.

Under pressure from gun- control advocates, Facebook agreed Wednesday to delete posts from users seeking to buy or sell weapons illegally or without a background check.

A similar policy will be applied to Instagram, the company’s photo-sharing network, Facebook said. The measures will be put into effect over the next few weeks at the world’s largest social network, with 1.3 billion active users.

“We will remove reported posts that explicitly indicate a specific attempt to evade or help others evade the law,” the company said in a statement.

The move reflects growing alarm that the Internet is being used to sell banned weapons, evade restrictions on interstate sales and put guns in the hands of convicted felons, domestic abusers, the mentally ill or others barred under federal law from obtaining firearms. Gun-control advocates say Facebook has become a significant marketplace, with thousands of firearms-related posts.

Google Plus and Craigs-list already prohibit all gun sales, legal or illegal.

Facebook said that instead of patrolling its network for violators, it will rely on reports from users and police.

The new policy was worked out in an agreement with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has been pressing the company along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group backed by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Moms Demand Action.