Glocks, military-style rifles and “ghost guns” have all been advertised for sale on easily accessible sites like Facebook and Instagram. Each ad appears to be in direct violation of Meta’s own policies, raising questions about the company’s ability to effectively moderate content. Some of the ads go even further, potentially violating local and federal laws.
Meta has banned ads for the sale of firearms since 2016. The company’s policy simply states: “Ads must not promote the sale or use of weapons, ammunition or explosives. This includes ads for weapon modification accessories.”
But more than 230 of these ads ran on Meta’s platforms in just over two months, many directing users to Telegram for the actual transaction, according to a new study released Oct. 7 by the Tech Transparency Project and the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.
“TTP’s investigation shows that Meta is giving gun traffickers unparalleled reach,” said Katie Paul, director of Tech Transparency Project. “Until Meta enforces the rules it has on the books, its advertising engine will continue to be a vector for dangerous weapons that threaten the safety of Americans and others around the world.”
Meta’s massive reach
Meta’s business help center explains that “ads can appear on Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Meta Audience Network.” That means an individual ad can have a massive reach across platforms, showing up in a user’s individual Facebook and Instagram feed as well as in stories or in their Messenger inbox.
But ads are just one part of the problem.
Users can promote weapons for sale as a post on their personal profile as well as list them for sale on Facebook Marketplace — a public space on the platform for people to buy and sell goods.
In fact, a CBS News investigation released Oct. 2 found numerous listings on Facebook marketplace for firearms, pellet and BB guns, in violation of the company’s policies. After CBS News asked Meta about the listings, they were removed, though CBS News continued to find new listings. A Meta spokesperson said 98.4% of problem listings on Marketplace are caught by its systems before being flagged by users.
When CBS News reached out to Meta to ask about the TTP report’s findings on the prevalence of gun ads, a Meta spokesperson explained that the company’s ad review is an ongoing process both before and after publication.
“We enforce our commerce policies through our commerce review system. As part of our ads review process — which includes both automated and human reviews — we have several layers of analysis and detection, both before and after an ad goes live,” the company said in a statement provided to CBS News.
Tech Transparency Project report
In the past few years, several people have been charged with selling firearms and illegal gun accessories on Meta platforms, specifically via Instagram profile pages.
In 2019, two former police officers were found guilty of conspiracy to deal firearms without a license, selling firearms to a convicted felon and making false statements about the sales on federal firearms licensing paperwork. They both advertised the guns on their Instagram pages.
Two Los Angeles-based men were charged in June 2024 with selling more than 60 firearms, including untraceable “ghost guns” and guns with scratched-off serial numbers, through Instagram accounts. Both men have pleaded not guilty.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to CBS News’ questions about how prevalent gun sales are on social media platforms.
It’s not clear whether the allegations in those cases involved specific ads or just posts on their feeds. However, ads are frequently used across Meta platforms to increase business and profile reach and are a revenue driver for the company.
Furthermore, each ad on the platform is supposed to be reviewed by Meta systems before going live. A 2021 announcement from Facebook explains, “Our ad review system is designed to review all ads before they go live. This system relies primarily on automated technology to apply our Advertising Policies to the millions of ads that run across our apps. While our review is largely automated, we rely on our teams to build and train these systems, and in some cases, to manually review ads.”
Studying Meta’s ads
Between June 1 and Aug. 20, 2024, TTP searched the Meta Ad Library for “a series of gun-related terms: pistol(s), Sig Sauer, Glock(s), Glock 17, Glock 19, Glock 43, Draco, rifle(s), Ruger, ammunition, ammo, automatic switch, automatic sear, and rounds.”
Two of TTP’s search terms — “automatic switch” and “automatic sear” — refer to illegal machine gun conversion devices. These small, inexpensive devices are easy to install onto semi-automatic firearms to immediately turn them into fully automatic weapons, allowing users to shoot up to 1,200 rounds a minute. They’ve been illegal since 1986.
Thirty-four of the ads TTP found were for auto sears or switches. Two of those also included photos of switches that had swastika designs.
Most of the gun ads TTP identified — 215 out of the total 237 — ran on Instagram. The platform remains one of the most popular social networks for teens in America; a 2023 Pew Research survey showed about 59% of teens between 13 and 17 use Instagram.
Many of these ads also reached Instagram users in EU countries, where gun sales are strictly regulated. Meta’s data showed that one ad reached more than 15,500 adults in the EU, specifically the Netherlands and Portugal.
Tech Transparency Project report
Most of the ads push users to Telegram to complete the actual sales. Telegram is not owned by Meta and has been sharply criticized for its unwillingness to enact any kind of moderation on users. In August, the owner of Telegram was arrested by French authorities. The Paris prosecutors office said he was detained as part of an investigation into complicity in complicity in cybercrimes like the transfer and creation of child sexual abuse material and narcotics trafficking. Some of the Telegram accounts found in TTP’s study advertised international shipping, which could violate numerous international laws regulating arms sales.
In a statement to CBS News, a Telegram spokesperson said, “While Telegram already removes millions of pieces of harmful content each day, further strengthening moderation is the top priority of 2024.”
Slipping through the cracks
Gun safety advocacy groups have long criticized tech companies for not doing enough to crack down on gun sales.
“Meta has made a clear promise to keep gun sales off their platforms and it is clear that Meta has failed to do so,” said Nick Suplina, senior vice president for law and policy of Everytown for Gun Safety.
A spokesperson for Meta said in a statement that between April and June 2024, the company “took action” on 1.9 million pieces of firearm content on Facebook and 242,000 pieces of firearm content on Instagram. They said over 99% of that content was caught before it was reported by users. These numbers do not include advertisements.
When asked how the ads found by TTP could have made it through Meta’s content moderation and whether Meta planned to make any changes in their moderation strategies, a spokesperson wrote, “Enforcing our policies at scale is essential work, and challenging. Our automated technology and trained global teams are constantly learning and improving as we gather new information and feedback.”
