YouTube implementing tougher policy on gun videos to protect youth

YouTube is updating your policy in firearms videos to prevent potentially dangerous content from reaching underage users.

The Google-owned video-sharing platform announced this week that it will ban any videos instructing how to remove firearm safety devices. Videos showing homemade weapons, automatic weapons, and some firearm accessories such as silencers will be restricted to users 18 years of age or older.

The changes take effect June 18 and come after gun safety advocates repeatedly called on the platform to do more to ensure gun videos don’t reach the site’s youngest users, potentially traumatizing children or sending them to dark paths of extremism and violence.

YouTube, which has a large community of so-called “gunfluencers” known for frequently promoting firearms and accessories, previously banned content that purported to sell firearms and accessories or instruct viewers on how to make their own. It also does not allow live broadcasts that show people handling or carrying firearms.

The video streaming platform said that while content sometimes does not violate its policies, it may not be appropriate for underage users. There are exceptions for videos that show firearms in the public interest, such as news clips, war footage or police footage.

Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, said the change was good news and a step in the right direction. But she questioned why the platform took so long to issue a new policy and said her group will review how effectively YouTube enforces its new rule.

“Guns are the number one cause of death for children and teens in America,” said Paul, whose group has long sought stronger age controls on online gun videos. “As always with YouTube, the real proof of change is whether the company applies the policies it has in place. Until YouTube takes real action to prevent videos about guns and gun violence from reaching minors, its policies will remain empty words.”

Last year, researchers in Paul’s group created YouTube accounts that mimicked the behavior of 9-year-old American boys with a declared interest in video games. The researchers found that YouTube’s recommendation system forwarded graphic videos of school shootings, tactical weapons training videos, and instructions on how to make firearms fully automatic to these accounts.

One video featured a school-aged girl wielding a gun; another showed a gunman using a .50 caliber gun to shoot a mannequin head filled with realistic blood and brains. Many of the videos violated YouTube’s own policies against violent or gory content.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called on YouTube last month to stop the proliferation of firearms-related videos for young users and told the company it was unable to enforce its own policies. On Wednesday, Bragg said that applauded the company’s new policy.

“We have heard firsthand from young people that the YouTube algorithm is leading them into the world of illegal and 3D-printed firearms, which is having a direct impact on the safety of Manhattan residents,” Bragg said in a statement.

YouTube said the policy changes were designed to reflect new developments, such as 3D-printed weapons, which have become more available in recent years. YouTube requires users under the age of 17 to obtain parental permission before using the site; Accounts for users under 13 are linked to the parental account.

“We regularly review our guidelines and consult with outside experts to ensure we are drawing the line in the right place,” said company spokesman Javier Hernandez.

Along with TikTok, YouTube is one of the most popular websites for children and teenagers. Both sites have come under fire in the past for hosting and, in some cases, promoting videos that encourage gun violence, eating disorders and self-harm.

Several perpetrators of recent mass shootings have used social media and video streaming platforms to glorify violence, foreshadow or even live-stream their attacks.