We've previously reported on Defense Distributed, an organization that seeks to design and print fully-functional guns using 3D printers and share the digital files for them so others can do the same.
We don't like this idea one bit. It turns out that a heavyweight in the 3D printing world doesn't like it either.
Thingiverse is an online repository for people to share digital files that can be used to render objects in the real world using a 3D printer.
Now CNET reports that Thingiverse is removing files that could be used to produce firearms. It removed a file that could be used to produce a gun's lower receiver.
Thingiverse's terms of service already give it the right to remove any material that could be used to create a weapon, but a company representative told CNET that "[w]e reserve the right (but have no obligation) to review any User Content, investigate, and/or take appropriate action against you in our sole discretion if you violate the Acceptable Use Policy..."
And consider the shooting in Connecticut – Makerbot's attorney Richard McCarthy added that "[r]ecent events served as the impetus here to take immediate action (and there were several) and reiterate or emphasize the site's focus on creative empowerment for products that have a positive impact."
Finally some sense.
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