this post was submitted on 24 Aug 2024

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Yemen weapons dealers selling machine guns on X (www.bbc.com)

submitted 2 months ago by lemmee_in@lemm.ee to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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Weapons dealers in Yemen are openly using the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to sell Kalashnikovs, pistols, grenades and grenade-launchers.

The traders operate in the capital Sana’a and other areas under control of the Houthis, a rebel group backed by Iran and proscribed as terrorists by the US and Australian governments.

The advertisements are mostly in Arabic and aimed primarily at Yemeni customers in a country where the number of guns is often said to outnumber the population by three to one.

The BBC has found several examples online, offering weapons at prices in both Yemeni and Saudi riyals.

The words beside the weapons are designed to lure in the buyers.

"Premium craftsmanship and top-notch warranty," says one advertisement. "The Yemeni-modified AK is your best choice."

A demonstration video, filmed at night, shows the seller blasting off a 30-round magazine on full automatic.

Another offers sand-coloured Pakistani-produced Glock pistols for around $900 each.

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[–] sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I... uh...

...ok.

So, if you go on Facebook, or Craiglist, and then privately buy or sell a firearm that is:

Fully Automatic

Does not meet required barrel length for its caliber

Is a fucking grenade or other explosive

Sold to or purchased from a person in a state you do not reside in

And/or

You do not also do the required paperwork (and usually a background check on the purchaser) to indicate to the government that you have sold/purchased a firearm, or at least keep a record of this for yourself...

...in almost every state in the US, you are now likely a felon, should your activities become noticed by law enforcement.

https://www.findlaw.com/consumer/consumer-transactions/private-gun-sale-laws-by-state.html

In fact, the ATF and FBI have quite often done honeypot operations in these kinds of groups.

Please tell me you can see the difference between exploiting the loopholes in a country with a highly complex array or firearms laws, and an open air bazaar in a foreign country with basically no gun laws.

Twitter/X, which is, last I checked, a US based and registered company, is now facilitating unregulated firearms sales to a potentially international audience, and again, it is facilitating arms transfers to or from persons and entities the US likely considers to be terrorists.

I do not have to have any political opinion regarding the Houthis to be able to tell you that this is yet another gigantic legal quagmire for Twitter/X.

[–] circuscritic@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Why are you assuming that there is a state of law and order to any degree, outside of maybe the capital..?

Are you aware that we're talking about Yemen...?

Notice that Wikipedia page for their civil war doesn't currently have an end date i.e. it's still active...

It's not like Twitter is providing up support for these transactions, I'm saying it's not surprising they exist on a public forum like Twitter for a country that's ravaged by a decade war and famine.

Just like how kids in the United States sell drugs on Twitter or Instagram.

So no, Twitter is not automatically liable just because people are abusing the platform. I'm not saying it can't get there, just that it's not that simple.

Regardless, I wasn't saying anything about the legality of it for Twitter.

[–] sp3tr4l@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I am not. I in fact said the opposite.

Please tell me you can see the difference between exploiting the loopholes in a country with a highly complex array ~~or~~ of firearms laws, and an open air bazaar in a foreign country with basically no gun laws.

EDIT: Now that I'm quoting myself, that or should be an of, whoops.

[–] circuscritic@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 months ago

At no point did I mention laws, or legal loopholes.

And I certainly never mentioned anything about the United States, or the legal liability of Twitter, except as in response to your comment.

I think you're confusing my acknowledgment of the daily reality of a country that is currently divided between 3 and 5 major and minor factions, all in various states of civil conflict, with being something else entirely.

I wasn't providing any opinion, or analysis, on the legality from Twitter's perspective. I certainly wasn't making any comparisons to laws in the United States and Yemen, or anything else that you've been talking about since your first comment.

I would make the "duh no shit this is clickbait" observation if the BBC ran yet another story about how kids are selling drugs on Snapchat or Instagram.