TEHRAN – Facebook has banned the sale of historical artifacts, including Iranian carpets, on its platforms in an attempt to prevent priceless items looted or stolen from being sold online, IRNA reported on Thursday. 

Published photos of stolen historical artifacts on Facebook and Instagram were one of the reasons which led to the decision, the report added. 

Several reports confirmed that the looters were using the platform to identify and sell illegally excavated antiquities mostly from the countries in West Asia. 

“We’ve long had rules preventing the sale of stolen artifacts.” public policy manager at Facebook Greg Mandel said on Tuesday and added “To keep these artifacts and our users safe, we’ve been working to expand our rules, and starting today, we now prohibit the exchange, sale or purchase of all historical artifacts on Facebook and Instagram.”

ABU/MG