Gun legislation and administration
The US Department of Homeland Security and the Joint Regional
Intelligence Center released a memo stating that “significant advances
in three-dimensional (3D) printing capabilities, availability of free
digital 3D printable files for firearms components, and difficulty
regulating file sharing may present public safety risks from unqualified
gun seekers who obtain or manufacture 3D printed guns” and that
“proposed legislation to ban 3D printing of weapons may deter, but
cannot completely prevent, their production. Even if the practice is
prohibited by new legislation, online distribution of these 3D printable
files will be as difficult to control as any other illegally traded
music, movie or software files.”
Attempting to restrict the distribution of gun plans via the Internet
has been likened to the futility of preventing the widespread
distribution of DeCSS, which enabled DVD ripping. After the US
government had Defense Distributed take down the plans, they were still
widely available via the Pirate Bay and other file sharing sites.
Downloads of the plans from the UK, Germany, Spain, and Brazil were
heavy. Some US legislators have proposed regulations on 3D printers to
prevent them from being used for printing guns. 3D printing advocates
have suggested that such regulations would be futile, could cripple the
3D printing industry, and could infringe on free speech rights, with
early pioneer of 3D printing Professor Hod Lipson suggesting that
gunpowder could be controlled instead.
Internationally, where gun controls are generally stricter than in the
United States, some commentators have said the impact may be more
strongly felt since alternative firearms are not as easily obtainable.
Officials in the United Kingdom have noted that producing a 3D printed
gun would be illegal under their gun control laws. Europol stated that
criminals have access to other sources of weapons but noted that as
technology improves, the risks of an effect would increase.