Facebook share price soars, toughens restrictions on gun sales

Facebook Inc. announced that it is implementing new restrictions on guns promotions on the social network due to pressure by groups that are trying to prevent criminal activity.

Facebook Inc. published a blog post, saying that posts of users that share their willingness to break the law, as well as ones that contain offers to illegally sell guns, will be removed. The social networks users, who post such offers will be notified by the company of the relevant laws. Facebook also explained that the visibility of such posts and pages will be restricted for users under the age of 18.

The social network already prohibits and restricts illegal drugs, weapons and other regulated products and services advertisements. The company made it clear in its blog post that it intends to continue its campaign of “a long-standing prohibition” against such products and services. It plans also to make some changes on its photo-sharing network Instagram, by reminding users to follow the law when searching for firearms promotions.

The company explained in the blog post, which was cited by Bloomberg: “This is one of many areas where we face a difficult challenge balancing individuals’ desire to express themselves on our services, and recognizing that this speech may have consequences elsewhere. We believe these collective efforts represent the right approach in balancing people’s desire to express themselves while promoting a safe, responsible community.”

Although the sales were not possible for finalizing on Facebook, such a step was considered a necessity for the company, because advocacy groups, such as Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action, had accused it of assisting the process of unregulated online guns sales.

Both the Chairman of Mayors Against Illegal Guns – Mr. John Finblatt and the founder of Moms Demand Action – Ms. Shannon Watts sharply criticized the social networks behavior, which called for the need of Facebook to take such measures.

As reported by the Financial Times, Facebooks head of global policy management – Ms. Monika Bickert said: “We work hard to find a balance between enabling people to express themselves about topics that are important to them, and creating an environment that is safe and respectful. While we’ve recently heard specific concerns from people about offers for the private sales of firearms, this is one of many areas where we face a difficult challenge balancing individuals’ desire to express themselves on our services, and recognising that this speech may have consequences elsewhere.”

Facebook Inc. rallied 4.03% on Wednesday to settle the session at $71.57, marking a one-year change of +160.07% and raising the companys market value to $182.49 billion. According to CNN Money, the 40 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Facebook Inc. have a median target of $71.50, with a high estimate of $85.00 and a low estimate of $60.00. The median estimate represents a -0.10% decrease from the previous close.