Restricted Goods & Services

Policy Rationale:

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To encourage safety and deter potentially harmful activities, we prohibit attempts by individuals, manufacturers, and retailers to purchase, sell, raffle, gift, transfer or trade certain goods and services on our platform. We do not tolerate the exchange or sale of any drugs that may result in substance abuse covered under our policies below. Brick-and-mortar and online retailers may promote firearms, alcohol, and tobacco items available for sale off of our services; however, we restrict visibility of this content for minors. We allow discussions about the sale of these goods in stores or by online retailers, as well as advocating for changes to regulations of goods and services covered in this policy.

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Do not post:

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Firearms

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Content that:

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• Attempts to buy, sell, or trade, firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives, or lethal enhancements except when posted by a Page, Group or Instagram profile representing legitimate brick-and-mortar entities, including retail businesses, websites, brands or government agencies (e.g. police department, fire department) or a private individual sharing content on behalf of legitimate brick-and-mortar entities.

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• Attempts to donate or gift firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives, or lethal enhancements except when posted in the following contexts:

o Donating, trading in or buying back firearms and ammunition by a Page, Group or Instagram profile representing legitimate brick-and-mortar entities, including retail businesses, websites, brands or government agencies, or a private individual sharing content on behalf of legitimate brick-and-mortar entities.

o An auction or raffle of firearms by legitimate brick-and-mortar entities, including retail businesses, government-affiliated organizations or non-profits, or private individuals affiliated with or sponsored by legitimate brick-and-mortar entities.

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• Asks for firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives, or lethal enhancements

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• Sells, gifts, exchanges, transfers, coordinates, promotes (by which we mean speaks positively about, encourages the use of) or provides access to 3D printing or computer-aided manufacturing instructions for firearms or firearms parts regardless of context or poster.

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• Attempts to buy, sell, or trade machine gun conversion devices

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High-risk drugs (drugs that have a high potential for misuse, addiction, or are associated with serious health risks, including overdose; e.g., cocaine, fentanyl, heroin).

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Content that:

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• Attempts to buy, sell, trade, co-ordinate the trade of, donate, gift or ask for high-risk drugs.

• Admits to buying, trading or co-ordinating the trade of high-risk drugs by the poster of the content by themselves or through others.

• Admits to personal use without acknowledgment of or reference to recovery, treatment, or other assistance to combat usage. This content may not speak positively about, encourage use of, coordinate or provide instructions to make or use high-risk drugs.

• Coordinates or promotes (by which we mean speaks positively about, encourages the use of, or provides instructions to use or make) high-risk drugs.

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Non-medical drugs (drugs or substances that are not being used for an intended medical purposes or are used to achieve a high – this includes precursor chemicals or substances that are used for the production of these drugs.)

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Content that:

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• Attempts to buy, sell, trade, co-ordinate the trade of, donate, gift or asks for non-medical drugs.

• Admits to buying, trading or co-ordinating the trade of non-medical drugs by the poster of the content by themselves or through others.

• Admits to personal use without acknowledgment of or reference to recovery, treatment, or other assistance to combat usage. This content may not speak positively about, encourage use of, coordinate or provide instructions to make or use non-medical drugs.

• Coordinates or promotes (by which we mean speaks positively about, encourages the use of, or provides instructions to use or make) non-medical drugs.

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Pharmaceutical drugs (drugs that require a prescription or medical professionals to administer)

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Content that:

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• Attempts to buy, sell or trade pharmaceutical drugs except when:

o Listing the price of vaccines in an explicit education or discussion context.

o Offering delivery when posted by legitimate healthcare e-commerce businesses.

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• Attempts to donate or gift pharmaceutical drugs

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• Asks for pharmaceutical drugs except when content discusses the affordability, accessibility or efficacy of pharmaceutical drugs in a medical context

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Marijuana

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Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift or asks for marijuana.

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Endangered species (wildlife and plants):

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Content that:

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• Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate,or gift or asks for endangered species or their parts.

• Admits to poaching, buying or trading of endangered species or their parts committed by the poster of the content either by themselves or their associates through others. This does not include depictions of poaching by strangers.

• Depicts poaching of endangered species or their parts committed by the poster of the content by themselves or their associates.

• Shows coordination or promotion (by which we mean speaks positively about, encourages the poaching of, or provides instructions to use or make products from endangered species or their parts)

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Live non-endangered animals excluding livestock

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Content that attempts to buy, sell or trade live non-endangered animals except when:

o Posted by a Page, Group or Instagram profile representing legitimate brick-and-mortar entities, including retail businesses, legitimate websites, brands, or rehoming shelters, or a private individual sharing content on behalf of legitimate brick-and-mortar entities.

o Posted in the context of donating or rehoming live non-endangered animals, including rehoming fees for peer-to-peer adoptions, selling an animal for a religious offering, or offering a reward for lost pets.

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Human blood

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• Content that attempts to buy, sell or trade human blood.

• Content that asks for human blood except for a donation or gift.

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Alcohol / tobacco

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Content that:

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• Attempts to buy, sell or trade alcohol or tobacco except when:

o Posted by a Page, Group, or Instagram profile representing legitimate brick-and-mortar entities, including retail businesses, websites or brands, or a private individual sharing content on behalf of legitimate brick-and-mortar entities.

o Content refers to alcohol/tobacco that will be exchanged or consumed on location at an event, restaurant, bar, party and so on.

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• Attempts to donate or gift alcohol or tobacco except when posted by a Page, Group, or Instagram profile representing legitimate brick-and-mortar entities, including retail businesses, websites or brands, or a private individual sharing content on behalf of legitimate brick-and-mortar entities.

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• Asks for alcohol or tobacco

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Weight loss products

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• Content about weight loss that contains a miracle claim and attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift weight loss products.

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Historical artifacts

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• Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift or asks for historical artifacts.

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Entheogens

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• Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift or asks for entheogens.

• Note: Debating or advocating for the legality or discussing scientific or medical merits of entheogens is allowed.

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Hazardous Goods and Materials

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• Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift or asks for hazardous goods and materials

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Except when any of the above occurs in a fictional or documentary context

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For the following content, we restrict visibility to adults 21 years of age and older:

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Firearms

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• Content posted by or promoting legitimate brick-and-mortar store, entities, including retail businesses websites, brands, or government agencies which attempt to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift (including in the context of an auction or a raffle) firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, explosives, or lethal enhancements.

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For the following content, we restrict visibility to adults 18 years of age and older:

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Alcohol/tobacco

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• Content posted by or promoting legitimate brick-and-mortar entities, including retail businesses websites or brands, which attempt to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift of alcohol or tobacco products.

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Bladed weapons

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• Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift bladed weapons.

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Weight loss products and potentially dangerous cosmetic procedures

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Content that:

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• Attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift weight loss products or potentially dangerous cosmetic procedures.

• Admits to or depicts using a weight loss product or potentially dangerous cosmetic procedures, except when admitting using in a disapproval context.

• Shows coordination or promotion (by which we mean speaks positively, encourages the use of or provides instructions to use or make a diet product or perform dangerous cosmetic procedures).

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Sex toys and sexual enhancement products

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• Content that attempts to buy, sell, trade, donate or gift sex toys and sexual enhancement products

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Real money gambling

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• Content that attempts to sell or promote online gaming and gambling services where anything of monetary value (including cash or digital/virtual currencies, e.g. bitcoin) is required to play and anything of monetary value forms part of the prize.

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Entheogens

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• Content that shows admission to personal use of, coordinates or promotes (by which we mean speaks positively about) or encourages the use of entheogens.

• Except when any of the above occurs in a fictional or documentary context.

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For the following Community Standards, we require additional information and/or context to enforce:

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• In certain cases, we will allow content that may otherwise violate the Community Standards when it is determined that the content is satirical. Content will only be allowed if the violating elements of the content are being satirized or attributed to something or someone else in order to mock or criticize them.