Facebook said it will temporarily prohibit advertisements for gun holsters, safes, and body armor amid threats surrounding the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
The tech giant’s decision targets “weapons accessories” and “protective equipment” through Jan. 22 “out of an abundance of caution”, according to a Saturday blog post. Facebook will be continuing its policy of barring ads for firearms, ammunition, and suppressors.
“We’re monitoring for signals of violence or other threats both in Washington, D.C. and across all 50 states,” the social media company wrote. “In the lead up to Inauguration Day, we have implemented a series of additional measures to continue preventing attempts to use our services for violence.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Erich Pratt, senior vice president of the Gun Owners of America, a Pro-Second Amendment Group, said, “The new restrictions Facebook just implemented ‘out of an abundance of caution’ are laughable. Among other things, they are banning ads for safety vests and safes, which are purely defensive or safety-related items. This just proves that Facebook has never been about safety. They have become a Ministry of Truth — a propaganda arm of the anti-gun Left.”
Facebook has said it would block the creation of any event near prominent government buildings in the Washington, D.C., area and remove posts with the phrase “stop the steal” following the Jan. 6 riot, where thousands of protesters clashed with law enforcement and breached the Capitol in a siege that resulted in the deaths of five people.
“As always, we will continue to remove content, disable accounts and work with law enforcement when there is a risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety,” Facebook wrote.
Facebook suspended President Trump’s account “indefinitely” the day after the violence, and the platform said it would “proactively reach out to federal and local law enforcement” if credible threats arise. The social media company was subsequently hit with criticism from those who believed the corporation did not go far enough.
“These isolated actions are both too late and not nearly enough,” Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner told the Guardian earlier this month. “These platforms have served as core organizing infrastructure for violent, far-Right groups and militia movements for several years now.”
