New YouTube Policy Cracks Down on Gun Channels

YouTube has just announced a new policy which officially limits what pro-gun YouTubers can share. The gun community has known for a while that YouTube was limiting the amount of coverage being shared, presumably due to the firearm content of videos. Many YouTube gun channels have either been deleted by YouTube or they have received “strikes” for unknown reasons. Three strikes within a three month period leads to the channel being terminated by YouTube.

The new policy states:

Policies on content featuring firearms

YouTube prohibits certain kinds of content featuring firearms. Specifically, we don’t allow content that: 

• Intends to sell firearms or certain firearms accessories through direct sales (e.g., private sales by individuals) or links to sites that sell these items. These accessories include but may not be limited to accessories that enable a firearm to simulate automatic fire or convert a firearm to automatic fire (e.g., bump stocks, gatling triggers, drop-in auto sears, conversion kits), and high capacity magazines (i.e., magazines or belts carrying more than 30 rounds).
• Provides instructions on manufacturing a firearm, ammunition, high capacity magazine, homemade silencers/suppressors, or certain firearms accessories such as those listed above. This also includes instructions on how to convert a firearm to automatic or simulated automatic firing capabilities.
• Shows users how to install the above-mentioned accessories or modifications.

If you skim through the policy, it appears YouTube is attempting to limit knowledge-sharing of what they think has caused several recent tragedies. One very important portion of verbiage states, “…links to sites that sell these items.” This means if a gun channel links to any company that sells firearms, that channel can be found in violation of the new YouTube firearms policy.

RECOIL has taken a step in the other direction by housing video content on its own platform. To check out uninhibited gun-friendly content, head over to RECOILtv.

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