NEW: YouTube and Gun Content — A Dangerous Combination for Kids and Teens
5.17.2023
NEW YORK — Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund released a new set of recommendations for YouTube regarding firearms content on its platform following the Tech Transparency Project’s report highlighting how YouTube not only fails to age-restrict firearms and violent content, but how its algorithm appears to be pushing such content to children and teens.
“Firearms are the number one killer of kids and teens, and platforms like YouTube have a responsibility to not provide a firehose of gun content to children,” said Justin Wagner, Senior Director of Investigations at Everytown for Gun Safety. “Children who aren’t old enough to buy a gun shouldn’t be able to turn to YouTube to learn how to build a firearm, modify it to make it deadlier, or commit atrocities.”
The Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund has repeatedly called on YouTube to do its part to keep our communities safer, and in particular, to make its platform a safer place for young people. Everytown believes the important research from the Tech Transparency Project demonstrates new urgency for YouTube to take the actions Everytown’s report identifies, or if it refuses to, for regulators to step in to protect children and teens on the platform.
Everytown’s recommendations for YouTube outlined in its report include:
- YouTube needs to enforce existing Community Guidelines on firearms, particularly with respect to children and guns.
- YouTube should place age restrictions on firearms content, particularly content that glorifies school shootings, tactical military training videos, and videos that illustrate unsafe firearms handling practices.
- YouTube should stop allowing direct links to websites where individuals can purchase weapons.
- YouTube should remove algorithmic recommendations of firearms videos to minors. The site shouldn’t push firearms to children who aren’t old enough to buy them.