When I think of Facebook and Twitter, the last thing that might come to mind is Gun posts. So, to me, this is a very strange article. I don't use Facebook because anything you put there can harm your life or your children's lives (pictures, posts, etc.) And even 100 years from now anything you put there might harm your life or your children's lives in almost any conceivable way.
However, it might be important for parents to know worldwide that gun runners, terrorists, human traffickers, drug dealers, murderers, all use Facebook in straightforward ways and in code. Facebook and all sites that use full names (or addresses) aren't safe! Also, geotagging on digital photos endangers your children's lives and your own too because it gives the exact location of where your children are to criminals around the world.
Note: after I wrote the above I created an article about Geotagging so parents can better know the dangers their children face in regard to digital photo posts online: Here it is: Geotagging
Facebook cracks down on gun posts
USA TODAY
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Facebook
is cracking down on gun-related posts. The social media giant is
blocking minors from seeing postings of gun sales and will take down
sales that don't require a background check or cross state lines.
Facebook is cracking down on gun-related posts.
The social media giant is blocking minors from seeing postings of gun sales and will take down sales that don't require a background check or cross state lines.
The change is a win for groups like Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which have been lobbying for more restrictive gun policies at businesses like Starbucks, Staples and now Facebook.
"On the same site that people are sharing birthday parties and family reunions,there are photos of AK-47s," says John Feinblatt, chairman of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. "This is not in the bowels of Facebook. This is upfront, center and easy to access."
Until now, Facebook regulated only paid ads and sponsored stories, which could not promote weapons of any kind. Images of weapons are generally acceptable as long as the weapon is not pointed directly at the viewer. User posts could say almost anything.
The changes will extend to Instagram where someone searching for a hashtag related to gun sales will get a content advisory.
Moms Demand Action and Mayors Against Illegal Guns posted a petition on a number of websites including Change.org and SumOfUs proclaiming "It's a social media gun show that we can't allow to go on any longer." By Wednesday morning, it had more than 230,000 signatures.
Facebook gun traders responded with their own petition saying "It's not ok to target only firearm enthusiasts for excessively restrictive rules." It has more than 8,900 signatures.
Similar petitions are circulating on a Facebook page called Guns For Sale that has more than 200,000 likes and thousand of posts from buyers and sellers. One, titled "Facebook: stay fair -- don't cave in to the anti-gun demands!" was posted by Stanton McCandlish, 45, of Oakland, Calif.
"There is no smoking gun here of big groups of Facebook users doing something wrong that requires some regulation," says McCandlish. "But Facebook is a private company, I guess if they want to have restrictive policies that alienate users, they can do that."
Recent news stories have fueled the fire. When a 15-year-old boy was caught with a 9mm handgun at school in Kentucky, he told investigators he had arranged the purchase through the "Portsmouth Pickers" Facebook group.
"It's not just giving criminals access to guns, it's giving our children access to guns," says Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action.
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