Facebook announced on Saturday that it will be banning advertisements for weapon accessories and protective equipment in the United States with immediate effect until at least two days after Joe Biden is inaugurated on Jan. 20th.
The reason for this is due to the attacks on the US Capitol Hill by a number of protesters who were are alleged to be protesting against the election result. The issue which started on Jan. 6th has caused a serious national security issue as well as getting President Trump banned from a number of social media services as well as other financial services.
This had also led to a number of prohibition by private companies and social media platforms stating they will also prohibit ads about weapons such as gun safes, vests and gun holsters in the United States.
“We already prohibit ads for weapons, ammunition and weapon enhancements like silencers. But we will now also prohibit ads for accessories,” Facebook said in a blog post.
Three of the U.S. senators sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday requesting the permanent barring of advertisements of products that are designed to be used in armed combat.
The senators, all Democrats, said the company must take this and other actions to “hold itself accountable for how domestic enemies of the United States have used the company’s products and platform to further their own illicit aims.”
However, the company took the necessary measures within its power by blocking the creation of any new Facebook events in close proximity to places as the White House or the US Capitol in Washington.
The FBI has warned of armed protests being planned for Washington and all 50 state capitals in the run-up to the inauguration.
Buzzfeed reported this week that Facebook has been running ads for military equipment next to content promoting election misinformation and news about the violence on Jan. 6 but a spokesperson representing the social media giant slated that all the pages identified in the Buzzfeed story have been removed and the company is also in work with intelligence and terrorism experts as well as law enforcement agencies.
