Senators Urge Tech and Social Media Companies to Block 3D Printed Gun Files
Cody Wilson, with Defense Distributed, holds a 3D-printed gun called the Liberator at his shop, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2018, in Austin, Texas. Eric Gay/AP
Will the tech giants step in?
In July news broke the organization Defense Distributed won the right to publish blueprints of their firearm, The Liberator, online, allowing anyone with access to a 3D printer the ability to download a gun.
This development followed five year lengthy legal battle the non-profit defense firm had with the State Department.
Some in the legislative branch who disagree with the development aren't giving up, however.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Robert Menendez, D-N.J. and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., sent a letter on Tuesday to Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, Craigslist, Google, Reddit and Yahoo.
While Facebook has already blocked people from posting the blueprints to their site as well as Instagram, the senators hope that other tech companies follow suit and use their platforms to limit access to the files.
The senators cite Twitter's terms of service and say that the files "glorify violence," which violate those terms.
"The publication of these CAD files would therefore make available to any person deadly weapons that are untraceable and undetectable, thereby undermining firearms laws and posing a serious risk to the safety of our communities," the letter said.