<story><title>Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts</title><url>https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-profits-military-gear-ads-capitol-riot</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>nataz</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m seeing adds for illegal pistol and rifle suppressors (aka &amp;quot;silencers&amp;quot;) only barely disguised as &amp;quot;fuel filters&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;solvent traps&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;The companies selling the suppressor kits claim they are legitimate auto parts. They clearly aren&amp;#x27;t.&lt;p&gt;Some people have claimed that it would be legal to buy these if you applied for a license to manufacture a suppressor, but good luck arguing that in federal court, especially since these are manufactured in China. Both the import of these goods, and buying without the correct federal license are felonies....&lt;p&gt;And yet they are all over Facebook. And people are buying them.&lt;p&gt;Here is the crazy thing. I enjoy shooting as a hobby, and could understand if FB chose to show me adds for legitimate firearm accessory companies.&lt;p&gt;I am &lt;i&gt;not&lt;/i&gt; a car guy.&lt;p&gt;Either FB add targeting is terrible, or they can connect the dots between these obviously illegal &amp;quot;solvent traps&amp;quot; and people who are interested in firearms.&lt;p&gt;This isn&amp;#x27;t a post made by a random FB user, it&amp;#x27;s an ad on their ad network on their platform. At what point does FB facebook become culpable?</text></item><item><author>rreichel03</author><text>As an anecdote, since July they&amp;#x27;ve started showing me ads for body armor almost nonstop whenever I actually open the app.  Just the other day it was a body armor ad then an ad for a tactical communication earpiece.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mikestew</author><text>&lt;i&gt;Some people have claimed that it would be legal...&lt;/i&gt;&lt;p&gt;Over half a century of life might not have made me much of a programmer, but one thing it has taught me time and again is that if an amateur lawyer says something is “legal if...” and your gut said otherwise, go with your gut. It is as if they forget that the argument is not with me, but the hypothetical judge they’re going to stand before (as you point out).</text></comment>
<story><title>Facebook Has Been Showing Military Gear Ads Next to “Insurrection” Posts</title><url>https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-profits-military-gear-ads-capitol-riot</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>nataz</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m seeing adds for illegal pistol and rifle suppressors (aka &amp;quot;silencers&amp;quot;) only barely disguised as &amp;quot;fuel filters&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;solvent traps&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;The companies selling the suppressor kits claim they are legitimate auto parts. They clearly aren&amp;#x27;t.&lt;p&gt;Some people have claimed that it would be legal to buy these if you applied for a license to manufacture a suppressor, but good luck arguing that in federal court, especially since these are manufactured in China. Both the import of these goods, and buying without the correct federal license are felonies....&lt;p&gt;And yet they are all over Facebook. And people are buying them.&lt;p&gt;Here is the crazy thing. I enjoy shooting as a hobby, and could understand if FB chose to show me adds for legitimate firearm accessory companies.&lt;p&gt;I am &lt;i&gt;not&lt;/i&gt; a car guy.&lt;p&gt;Either FB add targeting is terrible, or they can connect the dots between these obviously illegal &amp;quot;solvent traps&amp;quot; and people who are interested in firearms.&lt;p&gt;This isn&amp;#x27;t a post made by a random FB user, it&amp;#x27;s an ad on their ad network on their platform. At what point does FB facebook become culpable?</text></item><item><author>rreichel03</author><text>As an anecdote, since July they&amp;#x27;ve started showing me ads for body armor almost nonstop whenever I actually open the app.  Just the other day it was a body armor ad then an ad for a tactical communication earpiece.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>SauciestGNU</author><text>I&amp;#x27;m going to be pedantic, but in the US, those silencer kits can be legal. There are requirements for the provenance of the components used in them (can&amp;#x27;t be imported) but until you drill out the bore they&amp;#x27;re solvent traps or fuel filters. And if you pay for a tax stamp and file the correct paperwork with the ATF, it&amp;#x27;s completely legal to transform those items into a firearm suppressor.</text></comment>