WOOCOMMERCE TURNS BACK ON GUN INDUSTRY

WooCommerce, a prominent e-commerce platform, has recently made a controversial decision to cease providing certain services to a major UK manufacturer within our sector. The affected company, which wishes to remain nameless, has expressed significant concern over this decision, highlighting the potential impact on their operations and livelihood.

According to the correspondence between the company and WooCommerce support, the primary reason for the termination of services is regulatory compliance. WooCommerce has cited evolving regulatory environments and internal policies that now demand stricter adherence to rules concerning the sale and promotion of highly regulated products. This shift appears to be influenced by overarching legal frameworks and the need to align with regulations prevalent in various jurisdictions, including the United States where Automattic Inc., WooCommerce’s parent company and best-known for Wordpress.com, is registered.

Despite assurance that they do not sell firearms online but only accessories such as clothes, stickers and gun stocks, WooCommerce has maintained that the promotion of these products, even if transactions occur offline, constitutes a violation of their policy. This has led to the decision that while the core functionality of the WooCommerce shop will remain intact, significant components and extensions provided by WooCommerce will no longer receive updates or support. This includes essential tools such as Jetpack, Table Rate Shipping, Product add-ons, and Conditional Shipping and Payments. Additionally, any services and products reliant on Jetpack technology, such as the Woo mobile app and Woo Tax, will also be affected.

The company in question expressed confusion and frustration over the sudden enforcement of these regulations, noting that they have been trading with WooCommerce online for over six years without previous issues and no change in the products they sell. The retrospective application of these policies raises questions about the consistency and communication of regulatory guidelines by WooCommerce. Furthermore, the company highlighted the disparity between regulations in the United States and the United Kingdom, where the sale of firearms online is illegal. This discrepancy emphasises the complexity of navigating international e-commerce regulations and the potential for conflict between regional laws and global platform policies.

Gun Trade Insider has been told that the termination of support for crucial e-commerce tools by WooCommerce significantly disrupts the manufacturer’s operations, necessitating immediate action to find replacements to maintain site functionality and security. This development not only impacts their current business operations but also poses long-term challenges in terms of compliance and adapting to regulatory changes.

The owner of the company told Gun Trade Insider that he believes many businesses within the sector are users of WooCommerce and will no doubt have the same issues.

Have you been affected by WooCommerce’s change in policy? We’d love to hear from you. Please contact Gun Trade Insider at editorial@fieldsportspress.com