Salesforce says some firearms can no longer be sold using company software: report
National Center for Public Policy Research's David Almasi on the impact on Dick's Sporting Goods' sales from the retailer's gun policy.
Salesforce has updated its acceptable-use policy, telling its customers to either stop selling certain firearms or forget about using its software, a report stated.
The company, which describes itself as an “online solution for customer relationship management,” updated its policy in April, The Washington Post first reported.
The tech giant’s policy states that it was barring customers that sell select firearms, including certain semi-automatic firearms, 3D printed guns, ghost guns, and firearms without serial numbers. The policy also forbids customers from selling certain firearm accessories, including “multi-burst trigger devices.”
A Salesforce spokesperson told The Washington Post that the policy change affected “new customers and a small number of existing customers when their current contracts expire.”
“After carefully reviewing similar policies in the industry and discussing with internal and external stakeholders, we updated our policy,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Fox Business’ request for comment from Salesforce was not immediately returned.
Stiefel Nicolaus analyst Tom Roderick told The Washington Post that the new policy could be controversial in certain states.
“Does this become a hot-button issue in states where people like their assault rifles?” Roderick said.
The policy could prove difficult for retailer Camping World, which spends more than $1 million on Salesforce’s software. It would cost the company double to switch over to a different provider.
National Shooting Sports Foundation public affair director Mark Oliva called the new policy “chilling.”
“It is a very chilling effect when a company as large as Salesforce puts out a policy like this,” Oliva told The Washington Post. “A policy like this is not surprising from a company based in that part of the country.”
The San Francisco-based company’s founder and CEO Marc Benioff has spoken out previously on rifles following the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last year that left 17 people dead.
“The AR-15 is the most popular rifle in America. Ban it,” Benioff tweeted.
The CEO also pledged $1 million to March for Our Lives.
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Following the school shooting, retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods announced a jump in the minimum age to purchase a gun to 21 and prohibited the sale of AR-15 style rifles. The retailer said earlier this year that it was planning to eliminate guns and other hunting products from 125 stores in 2019.
Salesforce has about 40,000 employees and a “market value of nearly $120 billion,” The Washington Post reported. Some companies that use Salesforce include Adidas, Toyota and American Express.
Fox Business’ Joseph Williams contributed to this report.