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TO NATIONAL EDITORS:
Moms Demand Action Applauds Major Moves by Facebook, Instagram to
Prevent Illegal Gun Sales on Their Sites
INDIANAPOLIS, March 5, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Facebook
announced today that the company and its popular photo-sharing
subsidiary Instagram will take significant steps to block potentially
illegal firearm sales through their platforms. For the first time,
the sites will delete reported posts offering to buy or sell guns
without background checks - a key indicator that users may be seeking
to avoid the life-saving checks that bar minors, felons, the seriously
mentally ill and other dangerous people from buying guns. The sites
will also block users under the age of 18 from viewing reported
private gun sales posts from individual sellers and any pages used
primarily for private gun offers.
The Facebook announcement follows a month-long campaign by Moms Demand
Action that quickly drew more than 230,000 supporters who urged
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom to
address the growing number of illegal gun sales facilitated by their
networks. Direct discussions took place between officials of Facebook
and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan national coalition
founded by former Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Thomas Menino. The
moms and mayors' groups merged in December 2013 to form the largest
gun violence prevention organization in the United States. This is
the second corporate victory for Moms Demand Action, which last year
mounted a campaign on Starbucks that resulted in a statement by CEO
Howard Schultz that guns were no longer welcome in his stores.
In response to the announcement, Moms Demand Action founder Shannon
Watts and Mayors Against Illegal Guns chairman John Feinblatt issued
the below statements and will speak on a media conference call today
with Facebook's Head of Global Policy Management Monika Bickert and
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman at 1:00 PM EST to discuss
the policy changes - please email press@maig.org for details on the
call.
Watts: "American moms are gratified that Facebook and Instagram have
agreed to take meaningful steps to prevent illegal gun sales to
children and dangerous people on its platforms.
"Our campaign showed how easy it is for minors, felons and other
dangerous people to get guns online - that's why moms and more than
230,000 Americans signed our petition, tweeted and used social media
to ask Facebook and Instagram to do something about gun sales
facilitated on their networks. We are happy that these companies
listened to American mothers and we believe these changes are a major
step toward making sure people who buy or sell guns on their platforms
know the law, and follow it. Moms are particularly pleased that
Facebook will block minors from seeing posts about gun sales or
trades, and that we can be confident that these social networks will
be safe spaces for our kids.
"There's still so much to be done - by corporations, by Congress, and
by local leaders - to keep guns out of dangerous hands. Moms have
momentum and we're moving the country toward a culture of gun safety
one company, one legislator, one law at a time. We're going to keep
applying pressure to corporations and political leaders until they do
more to reduce the gun violence that plagues our country. We're not
going away, and we will not stop until we've done everything we can to
keep our children and communities safe."
Feinblatt: "Our campaign exposed how simple it is for dangerous people
to get their hands on guns, no questions asked - not only on Facebook
and Instagram - but across the Internet. Unfortunately, the 'private
sale loophole' allows anonymous parties to sell guns without
background checks, and there are simply too many ways for criminals,
minors and other prohibited gun purchasers to get them easily - with
just the click of a mouse. We are grateful that Facebook and
Instagram are making major moves to prevent these sales from happening
via their platforms. We will remain vigilant in our efforts to draw
attention to these critical safety issues and hold corporations and
political leaders accountable to do their part to prevent gun
violence."
Among the significant policy changes Facebook and Instagram have
agreed to implement to prevent easy access to guns on its platforms
are the following:
-- Facebook will block all children (under 18) from viewing reported
posts from individual gun sellers or gun pages where guns are sold or
traded.
-- Facebook will allow users to report posts that may facilitate or
promote potentially illegal gun activity.
-- Facebook will delete reported posts that indicate that the seller
will not conduct a background check or that a buyer is seeking to
avoid a background check.
-- Facebook will delete reported posts that indicate that a seller is
willing to sell across state lines.
-- Facebook will continue to report to law enforcement any gun-related
posts that may pose a threat to public safety.
-- Facebook will require private sellers who are reported for offering
a gun for sale to acknowledge the relevant laws that apply to them -
including that background checks may be required before completing a
sale. These sellers will be blocked by Facebook from continuing to the
site until they acknowledge this policy.
-- All Facebook Pages and groups must prominently state that sellers
and buyers must comply with all applicable laws, including conducting
a background check where required. Facebook will take down reported
pages and groups where guns are sold until the owner of the page
acknowledges this policy and includes this information prominently at
the top of the page. Facebook's Help Center will remind sellers that
they may conduct background checks for safety purposes even where not
legally required.
-- When someone searches on Instagram for a hashtag related to gun
offers (e.g. #guns4sale) they will be required to acknowledge the
relevant laws that apply to them in this area before they see search
results.
-- Facebook will provide public education ad space targeted at users
interested in firearm-related content to ensure they know about the
laws related to gun sales. Moms Demand Action and Mayors Against
Illegal Guns will provide content for these ads.
Facebook and Instagram's policy changes were made in response to a
campaign by Moms Demand Action launched on January 27, which was
joined by partner organization SumOfUs and promoted on Change.org. As
part of the campaign, Moms released a "closer look" video to riff on
Facebook's 10th anniversary "look back" videos to explain how
Facebook's previous policies made it easy for guns to be bought and
sold online without criminal background checks. The video has been
viewed nearly 400,000 times.
Moms also brought to light cases of minors and felons buying guns on
Facebook.
Previous research by Mayors Against Illegal Guns found that criminals
are flocking to the internet to buy guns - on one site, one in 30
prospective gun buyers on online had committed crimes that prohibited
them from possessing firearms.
About Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Much like Mothers
Against Drunk Driving was created to change laws regarding drunk
driving, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America was created to
build support for common-sense gun reforms. The nonpartisan grassroots
movement of American mothers is demanding new and stronger solutions
to lax gun laws and loopholes that jeopardize the safety of our
children and families. In just one year, the organization has more
than 140,000 members with a chapter in every state in the country. The
group recently joined forces with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the
largest gun violence prevention organization in the country. For more
information or to get involved visit www.momsdemandaction.org. Follow
us on Facebook www.facebook.com/MomsDemandAction or on Twitter
@MomsDemand.
CONTACT: Erika Soto Lamb, erika@maig.org or 646.580.5281 Stacey
Radnor, sradnor@maig.org or 202.870.6668
SOURCE Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
-0- 03/05/2014
/Web Site: www.momsdemandaction.org
CO: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
ST: Indiana
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PRN
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0000 03/05/2014 17:18:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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