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Another major company is jumping into America’s gun debate – YouTube.
YouTube has introduced new restrictions on videos that feature guns and other weapons. Videos that “promote or link to websites selling firearms and accessories” will be banned, as well as instructional videos on how to assemble firearms. The policy is carefully worded so that videos are only restricted if they give instructions on manufacturing a firearm or modifying a firearm “to automatic or simulated automatic firing capabilities.” Which means gun demonstrations or even instructions on how to load and properly handle a gun should be fine.
So far, popular firearms channels such as Forgotten Weapon and Hickok45 appear unaffected, but that hasn’t stopped some gun enthusiasts from expressing concern.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation called the policy “troubling” and said: “We suspect it will be interpreted to block much more content than the stated goal of firearms and certain accessory sales.” Another channel, Spike’s Tactical, announced on Instagram that their YouTube account had been suspended, with the note: “The Liberal Left will slowly chip away at our freedoms and erode our rights, and the first step is to squelch our voice. To say we’re fucking pissed is an understatement. However we are not backing down from these bitches.”
It’s worth noting that the notice says the channel was being suspended because “YouTube doesn’t allow content that encourages or promotes violent or dangerous acts,” and it doesn’t mention the updated gun policy, which YouTube said won’t start being enforced until April.
Florida-based Spike’s Tactical was also recently in the news for an advertisement featuring a group of armed men facing off against protesters with the caption “Not Today Antifa.” Orlando Weekly called that advertisement “completely insane.”
Now, at least one gun channel, thus far, has opted to take their business elsewhere. InRangeTV, a channel with over 140,000 subscribers, has started posted content on Pornhub.
On their Facebook page, InRange said: “Over the last year or so we’ve seen our content be de-prioritized, flagged erroneously, demonetized by AI bots with little recourse, subscribers lose their notifications and subscription status without warning and more.”
They added, “We will not be seeking any monetization from PornHub and do not know what their monetization policies are, we are merely looking for a safe harbor for our content and for our viewers.” InRange does have a Patreon, which they argue is their funding stream.What do you guys think? Is YouTube’s new policy too restrictive, or do we need these kinds of measures in the wake of recent shootings? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.
