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Everytown Files Complaint with FTC Urging Investigation of Daniel Defense, LLC

7.25.2022

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Everytown Law, on behalf of Everytown for Gun Safety, submitted a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission on July 15, 2022, calling on the agency to investigate the marketing practices of Daniel Defense and to take all appropriate enforcement action.

Daniel Defense is a private manufacturer located in Black Creek, Georgia. The company produced the AR-15-style rifle used by an 18-year-old shooter to kill 19 children and two teachers, and to injure 17 more children, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. 

Everytown’s complaint presents evidence that Daniel Defense’s marketing practices violate the Federal Trade Commission Act by unfairly implying that its products are suitable for use by civilians in offensive, combat-like missions and by appealing particularly to teenage and young adult men who are attracted to violence and military fantasies. As detailed in the complaint, Daniel Defense markets its assault weapons with aggressive and militaristic imagery; the company’s social media content also includes references to pop culture in order to draw in younger consumers, such as to Call of Duty, a first-person-shooter video game, and Squid Game, a hyperviolent Netflix show. Moreover, according to the complaint, the company does not take steps to restrict access to its marketing content by underage civilians.

Everytown has requested that the FTC take all appropriate action to ensure that Daniel Defense reforms its marketing practices to reduce or eliminate the risk that they contribute to future gun violence.

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