YouTube is cracking down on weapon content, and 3D printed gun makers are not happy
YouTube announced this week that it will impose new restrictions on the types of videos related to firearms that can appear on the video-sharing platform, including a ban on videos directly promoting the sale of firearms and new age restrictions for 3D printed gun videos. And, as you can imagine, people who create 3D printed guns, often referred to as “Print Shoot Repeat,” are not happy about any of this.
New policies will not apply to artistic representations of weapons in media such as video games, and YouTube points out that videos of public interest largely will not see restrictions, including content involving “military or police materials, news materials, or materials from war zones.” However, if your YouTube channel is dedicated to showing off how well you can shoot your latest 3D printed gun, it will soon have an age restriction.
Print Shoot Repeat, one of the most popular 3D printed gun accounts, posted videos discussing the new rules. The anonymous creator behind this even mentions how Print Shoot Repeat was cited in the Everytown report, which first prompted this policy change, leading them to change their account name to PSR on YouTube.
The creator behind Print Shoot Repeat claims that according to YouTube analytics, viewers under 18 made up only 1.4% of the audience on their channel. Gizmodo could not independently verify these numbers.
The creator says it doesn’t matter if their channel loses viewers under 18 because the majority of viewers are adults. But their videos will continue to be buried by the algorithm because they will not appear in the same way and will not be visible to anyone without a logged-in YouTube account.
Print Shoot Repeat also expressed frustration that news and war videos will not have an age restriction.
“So kids being blown up in trenches in Ukraine by drones? Ha, no age restriction,” said the creator. “A pink 3D printed glock I made? Age-restricted. We don’t need kids watching that. We want kids watching people being blown up by mines. Love that. Awesome.”
YouTube told Gizmodo that the change in policies regarding 3D printed guns occurred because the 3D printing space has changed dramatically in a relatively short period of time.
“These updates to our firearms policy are part of our ongoing efforts to maintain policies that reflect the current state of content on YouTube,” company spokesperson Javier Hernández told Gizmodo via email. “For example, 3D printing has become more available in recent years, so we are ‘tightening our restrictions on content involving homemade firearms. We regularly review our guidelines and consult with external experts to ensure we are drawing the line in the right place.”
