Facebook bans ads for weapon accessories before Biden event

San Francisco: Facebook has announced to ban ads that promote weapon accessories and protective equipment in the US at least through January 22, as the country prepares for the Inauguration Day on January 20.

“We already prohibit ads for weapons, ammunition and weapon enhancements like silencers. But we will now also prohibit ads for accessories such as gun safes, vests and gun holsters in the US,” the company said in a statement last on Saturday.

The move came after a group of US senators wrote a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging the company to “develop and execute a Facebook policy permanently prohibiting advertisements of products… primarily designed for use in lethal tactical operations and armed combat.”

As President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris prepare to be sworn into office during the 59th presidential inauguration on January 20, Facebook let week announced to block the creation of any new live events in close proximity to the White House, the US Capitol building and any of the state capitol buildings.

In an update, Facebook said its teams are conducting a secondary review of all Facebook events related to the inauguration and removing ones that violate our policies.

Facebook is also restricting some features for people in the US based on signals such as repeat violations of its policies.

These restrictions include blocking these accounts from creating live videos or creating an event, Group or Page.