Sport Facebook temporarily bans ads for gun accessories and military gear

Facebook is continuing its crackdown on potential domestic terrorism at President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. The social network told BuzzFeed News that it was temporarily banning US ads for gun accessories and military gear, such as holsters and body armor, until “at least” January 22nd. The restriction came from an “abundance of caution” in response to BuzzFeed, politicians and Facebook staff, according to spokesperson Liz Bourgeois.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 16: Pedestrians walk along Pennsylvania Avenue near the U.S. Capitol on January 16, 2021 in Washington, DC. After last week's riots at the U.S. Capitol Building, the FBI has warned of additional threats in the nation's capital and in all 50 states. According to reports, as many as 25,000 National Guard soldiers will be guarding the city as preparations are made for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th U.S. President. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The company already barred ads for guns, ammo and gun enhancements like silencers.

Online ad bans freeze political campaigns

Facebook and Google's ongoing political ad bans have hamstrung campaigns and slowed a big piece of the political industry to a crawl.The self-imposed bans — put in place, lifted and then reimposed in some form by both companies since the week before Election Day 2020 — have essentially pressed pause on a political industry that spent $3.2 billion advertising on Google and Facebook in the last two and a half years. Some digital political firms are freezing hiring due to the uncertainty surrounding their biggest ad platforms.

The ads , which TTP says it saw on Facebook on Wednesday, included promotions for bulletproof vests and gun accessories . The ads appeared in the A Facebook spokesperson told CNN, "We don’t allow ads that praise, support or represent militarized social movements and ban ads that promote

Facebook has been running ads for body armor, gun holsters, and other military equipment next to content promoting election misinformation and “As if that weren't enough, Facebook 's advertising microtargeting is directing domestic extremists toward weapons accessories and armor that can

The pause followed warnings of a spike in ads for the accessories in the days following the January 6th Capitol riot. The ads were frequently popping up for people who followed extreme right-wing groups and pages, and often directly addressed the potential violence surrounding Biden’s inauguration.

Senators Richard Blumenthal, Sherrod Brown and Tammy Duckworth accused Facebook of profiting from the chaos, while attorneys general for Illinois, Massachussetts, New Jersey and Washington, DC urged Facebook to freeze ads.

The decision comes hours after Facebook blocked events in the DC area, and days after it banned all mentions of the “stop the steal” slogan used for rallying unsupported claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The thinking appears to be the same: Facebook doesn’t want even the slightest implication of enabling violence during inauguration week, even if it’s a largely symbolic move when extremists may already have the gear they need.