YouTube bans videos showing how to make guns

YouTube is home to tens of millions of videos about guns, but the company is now starting to ban some.

Screengrab by CNET

YouTube is cracking down on gun videos posted to its site.

People will no longer be able to watch or post videos that show how to assemble guns or that sell certain gun-related accessories, including bump stocks and high capacity magazines. The company had already banned videos that attempted to sell firearms.

YouTube quietly updated its policy on its website on Monday, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the new rules.

YouTube is the world's largest video service and gun enthusiasts have flocked to the site over the years. But the company, which is owned by Google, has come under criticism for allowing certain videos about weapons.

YouTube's decision to tighten restrictions on gun videos comes with heightened tension in the US gun debate. After 17 people were killed last month in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, anti-gun advocates have been pressuring tech companies to do more on gun control.

"YouTube prohibits certain kinds of content featuring firearms," the company now says on its website. This includes providing "instructions on manufacturing a firearm, ammunition, high capacity magazine, homemade silencers/suppressors, or certain firearms accessories … This also includes instructions on how to convert a firearm to automatic or simulated automatic firing capabilities."

YouTube didn't respond to request for comment.

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https://www.cnet.com/news/youtube-bans-videos-showing-how-to-make-guns/