YouTube has quietly introduced a policy change that will age-restrict some gun-related videos and ban others entirely. Content featuring homemade and automatic firearms will be prohibited for viewers under 18, while tutorials for removing safeties will be prohibited regardless of age. The new policy will go into effect on June 18.
“Starting June 18, 2024, certain content that shows how to remove security devices will be prohibited,” disclaimer on YouTube's firearms policy page now reads. “Content depicting the use of homemade firearms, automatic firearms, and certain firearm accessories will be age-restricted.”
Engadget has contacted YouTube for comment and clarification. We will update this story if we receive a response.
The change comes a year after the tech Transparency Project (TTP), a nonprofit watchdog group, criticized YouTube for recommending gun-related content to several “childish” accounts the organization created to see how easily The platform's algorithms pushed underage users toward weapons. videos. Researchers created four accounts, two of which posed as nine-year-olds and another couple posed as 14-year-olds. The accounts viewed video playlists about video game franchises such as Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Lego Star Wars, and Robloxand the team monitored the accounts to see what recommendations appeared.
Lo and behold, YouTube allegedly recommended content about guns and shootings. “These videos included scenes depicting school shootings and other mass shooting events; graphic demonstrations of how much damage firearms can cause to the human body; and how-to guides for converting a pistol into a fully automatic weapon,” TTP wrote at the time.
Other recommended videos showed a young woman shooting a gun and tutorials for converting pistols into fully automatic weapons. Some content was monetized with ads.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, recently famous for sentence a 77-year-old man WHO had trouble staying awake in court, intervened shortly after last year's TTP report. The district attorney asked to meet with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan to discuss why the platform allowed video tutorials for “ghost guns,” firearms assembled from 3D-printed parts or kit components.
The tech Transparency Project applauded the policy change, but warned that the true test would be the rigor with which YouTube applies it. “YouTube's policy changes to restrict gun content by age are a step in the right direction, given that guns are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States, but it's unclear why.” it took so long for the company to address the problem. “TTP Director Katie Paul wrote in a press release. “As always with YouTube, the true test of change is whether the company enforces the policies it has on the books. Until YouTube takes real action to prevent videos about guns and gun violence from reaching minors, its policies will remain empty words.”