YouTube is updating its policy on firearm videos in an effort to keep underage users from accessing potentially dangerous content, including videos showing homemade guns.
In its updated policy, the Google-owned platform said that beginning June 18, it will prohibit videos instructing users how to remove the safety devices from firearms. It will also restrict videos showing automatic or homemade firearms for users under 18.
YouTube has a large community of “gunfluencers” who often promote firearms and accessories. The platform had already prohibited content that intends to sell firearms and accessories or teach viewers how to make their own. It also prohibits livestreams that show people handling or holding firearms.
While YouTube said “sometimes content doesn’t violate” its policies, not all content is considered “appropriate for viewers under 18.” This includes videos showing 3D-printed guns, accessories that allow guns to automatically fire, and homemade silencers.
The restrictions apply to real-life use of firearms and do not apply to artistic uses, such as in short films. There are also exceptions for videos that show firearms and are of public interest, such as news clips, war footage or police footage.
“These updates to our firearms policy are part of our continued efforts to maintain policies that reflect the current state of content on YouTube,” Javier Hernandez, a YouTube spokesperson, said. “For example, 3D printing has become more readily available in recent years so we’re expanding our restrictions on content involving homemade firearms. We regularly review our guidelines and consult with outside experts to make sure we are drawing the line at the right place.”
YouTube said it consults third-party experts, such as law enforcement or public safety officials, when developing new policy updates.
The news comes as YouTube and other social media platforms have faced mounting criticism over their gun-related videos in recent years.
A study published in May 2023 by Tech Transparency Project, a research group that is run by the nonprofit Campaign for Accountability and is often critical of large tech companies, found that “YouTube’s algorithms are pushing boys interested in video games to scenes of school shootings, instructions on how to use and modify weapons.”
An NBC News investigation in 2021 found there were dozens of “ghost gun” assembly videos on the platform, which it prohibits. Ghost guns are untraceable DIY guns that are typically assembled in parts.
In April, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote a letter to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan calling out YouTube for “hosting tutorials on how to manufacture deadly weapons and pushing violent content about D.I.Y. guns to school kids,” the New York Daily News reported then. Bragg’s office shared the article in a post on X.
In a statement Wednesday, Bragg said he applauds YouTube “for implementing these important commonsense fixes to their community guidelines, which will further limit dangerous videos and minimize firearm content for minors.”
“Gun violence tears at the fabric of our communities and has claimed far too many innocent lives, which is why combating gun violence and stopping the proliferation of illegal firearms and ghost guns remain my top priority,” Bragg said. “We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to address illegal weapons in our communities.”
Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, told The Associated Press that the group plans to monitor how effectively YouTube enforces its new rule.
“As always with YouTube, the real proof of change is whether the company enforces the policies it has on the books,” she told the AP. “Until YouTube takes real action to prevent videos about guns and gun violence from reaching minors, its policies remain empty words.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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