• YouTube has confirmed a change to its policy related to videos featuring firearms.
• The change will take effect from 18th June 2024.
• Some videos will be age restricted in future, and others may be banned altogether from the platform.

YouTube has announced an important change to its policy related to videos that feature firearms.

From 18th June 2024, the Google-owned platform confirmed that certain content showing how to remove safety devices will be prohibited. Added to this, content showing the use of homemade firearms, automatic firearms, and certain firearm accessories will be age restricted.

“Content intended to sell firearms, instruct viewers on how to make firearms, ammunition, and certain accessories, or instruct viewers on how to install those accessories is not allowed on YouTube. YouTube shouldn’t be used as a platform to sell firearms or accessories noted below. YouTube also doesn’t allow live streams that show someone holding, handling, or transporting a firearm,” the company explained in an updated support page.

Further unpacking guidelines related to age restricted content, YouTube listed the following examples that would not be made viewable to users younger than 18 years:

• “Content showing use of a homemade firearm (e.g. 3D printed gun), an automatic firearm, or any of the below accessories:
  • Accessories that enable a firearm to simulate automatic fire
  • Accessories that convert a firearm to automatic fire, such as: bump stocks, gatling triggers, drop-in auto sears, or conversion kits
  • High capacity magazines
  • Homemade silencers/suppressors
• Examples (non-exhaustive):
  • Firing a 3D printed firearm
  • Firing a fully automatic rifle
  • Firing a firearm with a high capacity magazine.”

For those wondering what this means for content like videogames, where realistic guns may be present, the support page noted that the age restriction does not apply in those instances. As such, anyone posting a lot of Call of Duty: Warzone or other first-person shooters, need not worry about this policy change.

As Engadget points out, this new policy appears to be spurred on by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which has previously called on the likes of YouTube to take steps to stop its algorithm from recommending gun-related content to under 18 users.

What this means for content creators who have posted firearm-related content previously remains to be seen, but a note from YouTube explains that, “if your content violates this policy, we will remove the content and send you an email to let you know. If we can’t verify that a link you post is safe, we may remove the link.” 

“Note that violative URLs posted within the video itself or in the video’s metadata may result in the video being removed,” it added.

It also looks like YouTube will implement a three strike system, and channels that receive three strikes within 90 days will have their channels terminated.

How all of this will be policed and monitored still remains unclear, but as we have seen with other policy changes, enforcement and moderating can prove difficult. Either way, YouTube has given creators a little under two weeks to sort out their content.

[Image – Photo by Jay Rembert on Unsplash]