In Libya alone, since 2014, there have been 97 documented attempts at the unregulated transfer of missiles, grenade launchers, rockets, and various rifles, through Facebook groups. The New York Times reports that social media websites such as Facebook inadvertently provide the platform for many weapons sales.
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Facebook has taken down six groups identified as arms marketplaces, according to the New York Times.
The Facebook posts suggest evidence of large-scale efforts to sell military weapons coveted by terrorists and militants. According to New York Times report, small arms and light weapons have been sold in facebook.
The weapons include heavy machine guns and shoulder-fired heat-seeking missiles. Why Libya? Former Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi tightly controlled the sale of weapons when he was in power.
Khan said Facebook is in a tough spot when it comes to shutting down weapon-exchange groups.
Sellers often register fake names on social media, and build brands that become recognizable.
They also found that the majority of weapons being traded were handguns or rifles, and the most popular rifle was the Kalashnikov, which they found sells for around 1,800 Libyan dinars ($1,300).
Online arms trafficking of this magnitude is an “eye-opener”, said Mr Nicolas Florquin, research coordinator for the Small Arms Survey, the Geneva-based worldwide research centre that underwrote the Ares study.
Yet Times Magazine wanted to make a solid report as it also based the statement on weapon trades across Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
It seems that appeal of Facebook group has majorly to do with platform’s ability to display more catalogue information and images.
“We’re interested in understanding the mechanics of the illicit arms trade”, said ARES director N.R. Jenzen-Jones, ARES director. The social media company in January banned the sale of firearms on the Facebook platform and Instagram, its photo-sharing application, but because of the sheer number of groups Facebook manages, it could be almost impossible to monitor all the groups posting in Arabic.
“We remove any such content as soon as we become aware of it. We encourage people to use the reporting links found across our site so that our team of experts can review content swiftly”, Facebook told CNNMoney on Thursday.
The sales occur primarily in countries where the Islamic State is most active.
Worryingly enough, ARES accounted over 6,000 weapon trades reported across the Middle East. Nevertheless, Facebook has made clear that the company’s intention was way far from selling weapons on the Internet, and condemns all trades including firearms.
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The study, which covered nearly 18 months, found sales of a wide range of items on the social media sites, from handguns to rocket-propelled handguns.
