• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Facebook Asks for Help in Tackling Terrorist Arms Sale Problem

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 8, 2016, 5:58 AM ET
APTOPIX Mideast Yemen
Houthi Shiite Yemeni raise their weapons during clashes near the presidential palace in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Jan. 19, 2015. Rebel Shiite Houthis battled soldiers near Yemen's presidential palace and elsewhere across the capital Monday, despite a claim of a cease-fire being reached to halt the violence, witnesses and officials said. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)Photograph by Hani Mohammed — AP

Facebook(FB) may have recently brought in a ban on gun sales, but it seems terrorists still use the social network to acquire weapons.

A New York Timesreport suggested “online bazaars” have been set up to serve people in countries where ISIS has a strong presence, such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya.

These marketplaces involved secret or closed Facebook groups, selling everything from heavy machine guns to heat-seeking missiles and anti-aircraft systems, although most of the weapons for sale were smaller handguns and rifles.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

The newspaper told Facebook about seven such groups, of which it promptly closed down six (the seventh apparently only discussed weapons rather than selling them). The social network noted that it relies on people to report activities that contravene its terms of service.

“It’s against Facebook’s Community Standards to coordinate private sales of firearms, and we remove any such content as soon as we become aware of it,” Facebook said in a statement. “We encourage people to use the reporting links found across our site so that our team of experts can review content swiftly.”

Awkwardly, many of the weapons being sold in Iraq appeared to have been supplied to government forces by the Pentagon.

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Zuckerberg
EnergyMeta
Meta’s Zuckerberg plans deep cuts for Metaverse efforts
By Kurt Wagner and BloombergDecember 4, 2025
19 seconds ago
Pichai
Big TechAlphabet
Alphabet’s AI chips are a potential $900 billion ‘secret sauce’
By Ryan Vlastelica and BloombergDecember 4, 2025
1 minute ago
Zaslav
Arts & EntertainmentMedia
Paramount calls Warner Bros. sale ‘tainted’ in letter to CEO
By Christopher Palmeri and BloombergDecember 4, 2025
7 minutes ago
Geoffrey Hinton gestures with his hands up
Successthe future of work
‘Godfather of AI’ says Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right about the future of work—but he predicts mass unemployment is on its way
By Preston ForeDecember 4, 2025
28 minutes ago
Wells, Grant
EuropeSocial Media
Australia wants to end the era of kids on social media with international ban hailed as ‘first domino’ in global movement
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 4, 2025
1 hour ago
SuccessWealth
Meet Luana Lopes Lara: The 29-year-old ballerina spent summers working for Ray Dalio—now she’s the youngest female self-made billionaire
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 4, 2025
2 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
5 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
6 days ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Anonymous $50 million donation helps cover the next 50 years of tuition for medical lab science students at University of Washington
By The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Scott Bessent calls the Giving Pledge well-intentioned but ‘very amorphous,’ growing from ‘a panic among the billionaire class’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 3, 2025
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Innovation
Google CEO Sundar Pichai says we’re just a decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 1, 2025
3 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.