REPORT FINDS GUN ADS ON FACEBOOK DESPITE BAN

Facebook has allowed ads for guns and gun accessories to run on its platform in violation of its own rules, according to a report released Wednesday from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP).

  • The platform’s parent company Meta prohibits advertisements promoting the use or sale of weapons and weapon accessories in its own ad policies, but the TTP investigation found that Meta “regularly approves” such ads, sounding alarms about the company’s review system for what goes up on its sites.
  • The investigation reportedly uncovered 173 examples of gun-related ads that were approved to run on Facebook and Instagram Aug. 15-29 alone.

Meta’s response: A spokesperson for Meta told The Hill that the platform doesn’t allow ads for the sale weapon or weapon enhancement sales, and said Facebook works to quickly correct rule violations “that slip through by mistake.”