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New York law requires gun permit applicants to submit social media accounts for review
Under a new law, those seeking a permit need to show they have the 'character and conduct' to be trusted with a firearm.
Biden administration cracks down on 3D-printed 'ghost guns'
The Biden administration's Justice Department has issued a rule limiting the spread of 3D-printed 'ghost guns.'
Facebook temporarily bans ads for gun accessories and military gear
Facebook has paused all ads for gun accessories and military gear in the US through President-elect Biden's inauguration.
European police hacked encrypted phones used by thousands of criminals
In one of the largest law enforcement busts ever, European police and crime agencies hacked an encrypted communications platform used by thousands of criminals and drug traffickers.
More than 20 attorneys general are trying to ban 3D-printed guns
The fight over 3D-printed guns has gone back and forth for years. One side wins, the other appeals and so on. Now, 21 US attorneys general are banding together to renew the fight and sue the Trump administration. Their lawsuit, submitted Thursday, challenges new federal regulations that could, once again, allow blueprints for making 3D-printed guns to be posted on the internet.
'Life is Strange 2' and the reality of gun violence in games
Life is Strange 2 deals with a litany of heavy themes, covering everything from police violence and immigration in the United States, to racism and family bonds. French studio Dontnod handles each subject with care, respect and research, consulting with people who have lived through situations that the game's main characters, Sean and Daniel, encounter. However, there's an extra, unintentional topic humming beneath the five-part series: gun violence. Throughout Life is Strange 2, moments of high drama often culminate in scenes involving guns, asking players to make quick decisions at the threat of being blown away -- or, pulling the trigger themselves.
Facebook, Instagram ban influencers from promoting guns and vaping
Facebook and Instagram already ban ads for guns and e-cigarettes, but now they're shutting down a loophole that let merchants pitch the products regardless. The social networks have announced that they're banning "branded content" (read: influencer posting) that promotes weapons, tobacco and vaping. You'll also see "special restrictions" on posts that market products like alcohol and diet supplements.
The legal battle over 3D-printed guns is far from over
Last year, Defense Distributed won a legal battle, which allowed it to continue uploading and sharing blueprints for 3D-printed guns. The decision was immediately criticized by states and gun-reform advocates. Now, a US District Judge has overturned the ruling. Once again, it is illegal to publish blueprints for 3D-printed guns online.
Recommended Reading: Taylor Swift and Spotify are... best friends?
Taylor Swift is getting friendly with Spotify ahead of her new album, 'Lover.' Times have changed. Tim Ingham, Music Business Worldwide Not too long ago, Taylor Swift shook off Spotify, pulling her entire catalog from the service and slamming music streaming as "a grand experiment." Nearly five years later, amid a huge blow up with her former label, she's mighty cozy with the Sweden-based company that went public in 2018. It looks like the two sides have put aside their bad blood -- for now.
3D gun distributor Cody Wilson deported to the US
Authorities aren't wasting any time bringing Cody Wilson, the owner of 3D-printed gun maker Defense Distributed, back to the US. Taiwan officials deported Wilson to the US on September 22nd following his arrest a day earlier over his annulled legal status in the area. It wasn't clear where in the US Wilson was headed, although a Texas city is a possibility given the US arrest warrant issued for him in state over allegations he paid for sex with an underage girl.
Texas company sells plans for 3D-printed guns despite ban
A judge may have extended a ban preventing Defense Distributed from publishing plans for 3D-printed guns, but that isn't stopping the company from finding loopholes to continue offering the weapons. Company owner Cody Wilson has started selling the plans to US customers through his website on his belief that the ban only rules out publishing the plans online, not selling them directly. Those who purchase the plans can receive them by email, secure file transfers or even USB thumb drives shipped by mail.
When body cams had bullets
Just as GoPros have given us a whole new perspective on everything from extreme sports to animal behavior, so have body-worn cameras offered new insights into policing. Law enforcement agencies around the world now use body cams to record the activities of officers in the field, though they've only become commonplace in the last few years. But the idea of documenting the volatile situations officers can find themselves in -- providing both evidence against offenders and holding police accountable for their actions -- is much, much older. The first attempts were very different from the body cams of today, however, as releasing the shutter required pulling the trigger of the gun the camera was attached to.
Facebook is blocking links to 3D-printed gun files
Facebook is blocking links to sites that host 3D-printed gun files. The company has determined that such designs are not allowed under the regulated goods section of its community standards -- Facebook doesn't permit person-to-person gun sales.
Seattle judge blocks release of designs for 3D-printed guns
Today U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik granted a temporary restraining order sought by eight state attorneys general and the District of Columbia to block the sale of designs for 3D-printed guns. Based on a settlement between Defense Distributed and the US Department of State, they could have gone on sale starting tomorrow, but now that is on hold. In both the House and Senate, bills were introduced today to block the sales, and this morning the President tweeted the plan "doesn't seem to make much sense!" The New York Times reports that in his ruling, Judge Lasnik said there are First Amendment concerns, but said the states had established a "likelihood of irreparable harm." State AGs argue that the Trump Administration's settlement "gives criminals and terrorists access to downloadable, untraceable and undetectable 3D-printed weapons." White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley said to the AP that the administration would "will continue to look at all options available to us to do what is necessary to protect Americans while also supporting the First and Second amendments."
America's love affair with firearms bleeds into gaming culture
Gaming culture is rife with graphic representations of gun violence and has been since arcade goers first blew aliens out of Space Invader's skies. You'll be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of AAA titles designed for adults (sit down Rayman) that don't rely on firearms, or use gore in substitution, either as a primary tool for the gameplay or as a thematic element.
Facebook blocks gun accessory ads to the under 18s
Facebook has tightened the rules about what sort of firearms-related content is visible by the site's underage users. From June 21st, ads for weapon accessories, from optics, flashlights and holsters through to bulletproof vests and camouflage gear, will need to be visible by adults-only. This category also includes gun safes, mounts, gun cases, slings, gun wraps and equipment like clay throwers.
Reddit bans communities trading firearms and drugs
Reddit's bid to clean up its communities now includes what those communities trade. The social site has updated its policies to ban the trade of firearms, explosives, drugs (including alcohol and tobacco), services with "physical sexual contact," stolen goods, personal info and counterfeits. Accordingly, Reddit has shut down numerous subreddits that either directly traded in these goods or were clearly meant to enable those exchanges, including r/gunsforsale, r/stealing (yes, it existed) and r/darknetmarkets.
YouTube bans videos that sell guns and accessories
Gun videos may be a thing of the past on YouTube, with the Google-owned company updating its policies on firearms-related content. Videos can no longer sell guns or accessories via direct sales or even have links to sites that sell them. Videos also cannot have instruction on manufacturing firearms or associated items like magazines or silencers.
For the people in the back: Video games don't cause violence
Video games do not cause violent behavior. There is no scientific, consensus-backed research supporting the idea that playing video games -- even bloody, realistic shooters -- leads to real-life acts of brutality. However, this misguided theory prevails. After a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, left 17 people dead on February 14th, a handful of politicians decried video games for corrupting young minds and inciting violent behavior. Days later, President Donald Trump said during a meeting about safety in schools, "I'm hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts." Tomorrow, video game industry leaders are scheduled to meet with Trump to discuss the (non-existent, completely imaginary) problem. The Entertainment Software Association will be there and it has a clear message for the White House: "Video games are plainly not the issue: entertainment is distributed and consumed globally, but the US has an exponentially higher level of gun violence than any other nation."
Google Shopping's 'gun' ban blocked people from buying wine
Google Shopping banned weapon listings way back in 2012, but users have just been noticing it -- and have learned that the filtering has been a little too aggressive. Visitors from the US and elsewhere have discovered that the shopping search page hasn't been showing results for anything with "gun" in the name, including some perfectly innocuous items. Did you want to find Burgundy wine or Guns N' Roses' Appetite for Destruction? Too bad. You could still find things through a regular Google search, but that wouldn't be as helpful.
