the report was addressed to the following ........
The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings Ranking Member Committee on Oversight and Government Reform House of Representatives
The Honorable Brian Schatz United States Senate
The Honorable Elizabeth Warren United States Senate
According to the ATF FY 2010 – FY 2016 strategic plan, the privacy of the Internet makes it an ideal means for gang members, violent criminals, terrorists, and juveniles to traffic and obtain illegal firearms. 3 Further, the 2016 report noted that the more anonymity employed by a firearms purchaser, the greater the likelihood that the transaction violates federal law.
The current federal legal framework of statutes and regulations governing the buying and selling of firearms does not specifically address the use of the Internet to facilitate these transactions. Federally regulated transactions include those in which the seller is engaged in the business of dealing in firearms and is required to conduct a background check on a prospective nonlicensed buyer.4 Conversely, private transactions for the most common types of firearms between nonlicensed individuals who are residents of the same state, including transactions facilitated by the Internet, are generally not subject to federal background-check requirements.5
You asked us to assess the extent to which ATF is enforcing existing gun laws as they apply to firearms transactions facilitated by the Internet and investigate whether online private sellers sell firearms to prohibited individuals. This report describes (1) techniques ATF uses to investigate and enforce generally applicable firearm laws in instances where the firearm or firearm-component transaction is facilitated by the Internet and (2) results from our covert attempts to buy firearms on the Surface Web and Dark Web.6
To describe the investigative and enforcement techniques ATF has implemented to detect prohibited firearm or firearm-component transactions facilitated by the Internet, we reviewed relevant ATF documentation, such as planning and policy documents. We also reviewed and analyzed relevant statutes and regulations to understand the legal framework in which ATF performs its enforcement duties. Further, we examined applicable DOJ and ATF documentation to identify examples of closed adjudicated cases. We performed additional research using public court records to augment these reports in order to describe enforcement actions ATF has taken on prohibited firearms transactions facilitated by the Internet. Additionally, we interviewed ATF officials, including those with its Internet Investigations Center (Center), to understand enforcement actions ATF takes to respond to firearm crimes facilitated by the Internet. We also observed ATF regulatory officials perform a compliance inspection of a Federal Firearm Licensee (FFL) that engages in online commerce of dealing firearms to understand how the FFL inspection process works and learn how legitimate FFL transactions are facilitated by the Internet.7
To attempt to use the Internet to facilitate test firearm purchases, our agents performed covert tests on the Dark Web and Surface Web. Agents covertly accessed a Dark Web marketplace and attempted to purchase firearms or firearm components from nonlicensed private sellers. For our Dark Web testing, we examined the feasibility of obtaining different types of firearms. We made seven attempts to complete firearm transactions on the Dark Web, and we concluded testing when the transactions were successfully completed. For these covert tests, we did not disclose any information about our presumed prohibited status. On the Surface Web, using a variety of scenarios designed to make the seller believe that the transaction would be illegal, agents accessed gun forums and other classified advertisements and made 72 attempts to purchase firearms or firearm components from private nonlicensed sellers. The results of our testing are for illustrative purposes only and are not generalizable. We also reviewed DOJ and ATF published reports, as well as adjudicated criminal cases, to understand how prohibited individuals may use the Internet to purchase firearms or firearm components. Additionally, we met with third-party groups with knowledge of the firearms industry, including state law-enforcement agencies, a purveyor of a commercial website that hosts online firearm classified advertisements, a gun-control advocacy group, a firearm-industry organization, and an academic research center to learn about online firearm marketplaces, criminal pathways to illegally purchase or sell firearms, and enforcement responses. See appendix I for more information on our scope and methodology.
We conducted this performance audit from July 2015 to November 2017 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We conducted our related investigative work in accordance with the standards prescribed by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
