YouTube tightens age restrictions on gun-related content following criticism
YouTube has updated its policy to impose age restrictions on certain gun-related videos and ban others outright. Effective June 18, YouTube will prevent viewers under 18 from accessing content featuring homemade and automatic firearms. Furthermore, tutorials showing how to remove safety devices from guns will be prohibited for all users. "These updates to our firearms policy are part of our continued efforts to maintain policies that reflect the current state of content on YouTube," spokesperson Javier Hernandez told Engadget.
Policy change prompted by 3D printing tech
Hernandez further explained that the surge in 3D printing technology led to the expansion of restrictions on content involving homemade firearms. He stressed that YouTube regularly reviews its guidelines and consults with external experts to ensure they are setting boundaries appropriately. The new prohibitions will only apply to real use of firearms, not film clips, video games, or other artistic content. Exceptions may be made for public interest content like military or police footage, news, or warzone videos.
YouTube criticized for recommending gun content to minors
The policy change follows a report by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), a non-profit watchdog group, which criticized YouTube for suggesting gun-related content to underage users last year. The TTP created four accounts posing as nine-year-old and 14-year-old boys and found that YouTube's algorithms recommended videos featuring weapons and shootings. The report highlighted instances where YouTube suggested graphic demonstrations of gun-inflicted damage on human bodies and guides for converting handguns into fully automatic weapons.
TTP expresses concerns over policy enforcement
While the TTP has commended YouTube's policy change, it has also voiced concerns about its enforcement. "YouTube's policy changes to age-restrict gun content are a step in the right direction... but it's not clear why it took the company so long to address the issue...," stated TTP Director Katie Paul in a press release. "Until YouTube takes real action to prevent videos about guns and gun violence from reaching minors, its policies remain empty words."
Manhattan DA requests meeting with YouTube CEO
Following the TTP report, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg requested a meeting with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan to discuss the platform's allowance of video tutorials for "ghost guns," firearms assembled using 3D-printed parts or kit components. Some of these videos were even monetized with ads. This request underscores the growing concern over how gun-related content is managed on the popular video-sharing platform.
