Lawmakers want YouTube to enforce its own policy regarding teens and guns

Ray Bogan

This is how easy it is to find videos on YoutTube that show viewers how guns are assembled, used and manufactured. The videos can be found by both adults and teens, despite YouTube’s age restriction policy on content that shows homemade and automatic weapons being fired and  accessories that convert guns into automatic weapons, high capacity magazines or suppressors. 

According to the Gothamist, Congressman Dan Goldman and more than a dozen other Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to YouTube’s CEO urging him to better enforce those rules. 

Goldman told the outlet- “We hope that this will not only cause YouTube to very quickly correct any lack of enforcement, but will also be a message to other social media and digital media sites that they must enforce their own policies.” 

The letter cited research from the Tech Transparency Project in which a 14-year-old made a new GMail account and corresponding YoutTube account. 

When the user searched the term “glock” the results included a video titled “Glock with the switch”. The switch device allows the gun to fire like a machine gun. The pistol in the video also appeared to have a high capacity magazine which is age-restricted according to YoutTube policy. 

When the 14-year-old user kept searching other terms related to glock, they got even more videos showing the gun being fired after it was converted into an automatic weapon. 

The report stated- “TTP quickly discovered deficiencies in YouTube’s implementation of its new age restrictions, particularly with YouTube Shorts…” 

YouTube did not comment on the Tech Transparency Project research. We will keep you updated if they respond to the new letter from lawmakers. I’m Ray Bogan for Straight Arrow News, for more reporting from our nation’s capital, download the SAN app and turn on notifications.