A report from ABC says that Thingiverse is now scanning for ghost gun parts.
Ghost guns are a new concept in which the key parts of a gun, namely the parts that require serialization and registration, are 3D printed. These 3D printed parts are matched with normal metal parts to produce an unregistered weapon.
Police forces around the world are concerned about this method, as it is increasingly being used in crimes. Legal authorities have been suggesting a variety of approaches to reduce or eliminate this type of 3D print, but most of them are not truly feasible.
However, one approach is being done in New York, where a recent high-profile attack apparently used this type of weapon. United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson was assassinated earlier this year, allegedly with a ghost gun. This event likely triggered the New York authorities into action.
According to the ABC report, an “alarming” number of gun part designs were discovered on Thingiverse, one of the original 3D model repositories for 3D printing. The site now holds over seven million designs.
After discussions with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, UltiMaker, the owner of Thingiverse, has agreed to “take additional steps” to remove this type of content on Thingiverse.
The steps apparently include some type of automated system that can detect and reject files of this type. It’s not clear exactly how this system works, how the removals will be done, or when it was deployed.
It’s likely Thingiverse’s terms of use prevented users from uploading this type of content in any case, but evidently those terms were not being sufficiently enforced by Thingiverse operators. Now it should be.
The Manhattan DA has contacted many 3D printer manufacturers, asking them to take steps to prevent the spread of ghost guns. However, it’s unclear how many of them are taking action, as it is impractical to have 3D printers perform the filtering.
Apparently, the DA last week sent a letter asking the same to Bambu Lab, the fastest-growing 3D printer manufacturer in the world. The letter requested implementation of a similar system to identify and remove common gun parts from online 3D model repositories. That would be MakerWorld, Bambu Lab’s key library for content.
It’s not clear at all whether Bambu Lab, or any of the other non-US 3D printer manufacturers, will deploy systems of this type.
Via ABC News
