Facebook bans alcohol and tobacco sale on its site

Facebook has updated its regulated goods policy to prohibit the sale of alcohol and tobacco products between private individuals on Facebook and Instagram, Marketing confirms. This comes after whisky distillery owner Sazerac CEO Mark Brown accused Facebook for condoning the sale of counterfeit bottles of the company’s bourbon and empty bottles of high-priced spirit that are often exploited by counterfeiters, said a report by CNBC.

In a statement to Marketing, a Facebook spokesperson said the ban is an extension of its existing ban in commercial spaces such as Marketplace to encompass organic content as well.

Brown made that statement in an interview on CNBC's television programme stating that platforms such as Craigslist, Facebook and eBay are "enabling a bypass" of the system and introducing risks leading to a "methanol, counterfeiting problem" in the United States.

According to various media reports, alcohol tainted with methanol has caused several deaths in America of late. Counterfeit alcohol has been cited as a possible cause.

Facebook has been aggressively cleaning up content on its platform. In March, it banned praise, support, and representation of white nationalism and white separatism on both Facebook and Instagram. In the same month, it also overhauled its advertising policies to disallow housing, employment or credit advertisers on Facebook to target by age, gender or zip code. This is part of its efforts to prevent discrimination.