Gun owners and Second Amendment advocates are speaking out against a YouTube decision to ban some firearms videos.
The video sharing site will no longer allow people to post videos designed to “sell firearms or certain firearms accessories.”
YouTube will no longer allow videos promoting the sale of certain gun accessories, or the installation of these accessories, according to Bloomberg. These items include bump stocks, gating triggers, drop-in auto sears, conversion kits or anything that might allow “a firearm to simulate automatic fire or convert a firearm to automatic fire.” YouTube is also banishing any video that promotes the sale of large magazines.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation called the YouTube policy “troubling.”
“We suspect it will be interpreted to block much more content than the stated goal of firearms and certain accessory sales,” NSSF wrote. “YouTube’s policy announcement has also served to invite political activists to flood their review staff with complaints about any video to which they may proffer manufactured outrage.”
YouTube has been unapologetic in its response, issuing a statement to Bloomberg that it “routinely makes updates and adjustments” on website policy.
“While we’ve long prohibited the sale of firearms, we recently notified creators of updates we will be making around content promoting the sale or manufacture of firearms and their accessories,” a YouTube spokesman told Bloomberg.
