White House welcomes Facebook move to block private gun sales

A man poses with a magnifier in front of a Facebook logo on display in this illustration taken in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, December 16, 2015.  REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

The Obama administration on Monday welcomed Facebook Inc’s move last week to prohibit users from using its services to coordinate person-to-person private sales of firearms.

“Obviously, we welcome steps from private entities like Facebook,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a press briefing, following Facebook’s announcement on Friday.

Earnest would not comment on whether anyone in the administration had sought such a decision by Facebook, but he said some companies are interested in preventing individuals from circumventing background checks via Internet sales.

[“Source-reuters”]