Facebook, apart from being a social media website, can also be used to perform transactions. Sellers could post what they are selling on Facebook groups, and interested buyers can contact them and arrange a meeting, or make a direct deposit in which the item can then be mailed to the buyer.Turns out that’s how some people have been selling their guns on Facebook, and this is something the social media has decided that they will not abide by. Prior to this, Facebook had already prevented sellers from advertising the sale of firearms by saying that no background checks were required, or selling across state lines.
What this means is that private sellers will no longer be able to sell firearms on Facebook or Instagram. However licensed retailers will still be able to advertise firearms on Facebook’s website and even organize transactions that lead to outside of Facebook’s service.
According to Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of product policy, “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. 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.”