U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- You may see media coverage of the adoption by YouTube of a new firearms content policy that has the potential to affect our industry and your business.
YouTube’s announcement this week of a new firearms content policy is troubling. We suspect it will be interpreted to block much more content than the stated goal of firearms and certain accessory sales. Especially worrisome is the potential for blocking educational content that serves an instructional and skill-building purpose. 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.
Much like Facebook, YouTube now acts as a virtual public square. The exercise of what amounts to censorship, then, can legitimately be viewed as the stifling of commercial free speech, which has constitutional protection. Such actions also impinge on the Second Amendment.
Facebook Precedent
In what we see as a parallel situation, Facebook has repeatedly shut down the pages of legitimate and reputable firearms retailers that were following Facebook’s own rules. The interpretation depended on the reviewers, the vast majority of whom have little familiarity with our business practices, let alone our products, and many of whom do not even do their work from American soil.
Both First and Second Amendment rights are essential to the liberty we enjoy as American citizens. In a very real sense, the de facto curtailment of First Amendment right of its firearm related business users, YouTube is edging toward simultaneously infringing upon the Second Amendment rights of the customers of these affected businesses.
Commerce in Firearms is Essential
As Circuit Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain wrote in his 36-page opinion, “Our forefathers recognized that the prohibition of commerce in firearms worked to undermine the right to keep and bear arms.”
This argument can be logically extended to social media platforms. It is time that social media platform management realizes its broader collective responsibility since it commands so much of today’s virtual public square. Suppressing the expression of First Amendment protected political speech and of commercial speech is wrong, even if they think they are acting in the public interest. The resulting impingement of lawful commerce in firearms that brings with it the infringement of Second Amendment rights is equally wrong and it should stop.
Tell YouTube that this new policy is a cause for concern. Ask that its implementation and review process be fair, fully informed and respectful of your business. Please be polite and remember that the person on the other end will likely know little about firearms. Provide comments directly to YouTube.
About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 10,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers.
after reading the above post I went to U tube and all the posts about firearms, demonstrating, shooting, and everything else firearms related are still there. Am I missing something?
Youtube replacement = FULL30.com. It has Hickok45, Late Boy Scout and more. I like it so far, and I expect it will grow fast.
Being someone who believes in the 2nd amendment, I would never see that go away… that being said, I really think there does need to a little more common sense deployed here. People are having a cow cause they think common sense gun control is an affront to god given right to bear arms. First, that right was given by the men who wrote the constitution. And I have not a doubt they agree today that the lives of children who just happen to be our future are worth a little more of a background check, or having to wait… Read more »
Hypocrite .
@191145, And a liar!
And you would be breathtakingly wrong on about every point. The founders acknowledged that right and all other rights did not originate from them but were endowed to everyone by their creator. So you would not doubt those that not only wanted every able bodied man to have a firearm, but were interested in advancing technology, would want us to have less tools available? Remind me again about privately owned cannons in the 1800s that the government at times encouraged ownership of, or is a weapon that could kill or injury dozens in a single shot not enough of an… Read more »
“…that right was given by the men who wrote the constitution .”
The Ninth Amendment : ” The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the People .”
The term “Gun Control ” was created by Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels in the late 1930’s for the purpose of disguising the intent to confiscate firearms from those they wanted to murder ( and then did by the millions ).
The term ( gun control ) has continued to be the smokescreen for confiscation
Liberal controlled sites are being bribed behind the scenes by Bloomberg IMHO, and since they are such greedy whores, they do so without regret. This action by Youtube only drives another nail in their coffin, and provides opportunity for another site to pop up. Twitch was formed for Gamers to stage videos without the Google censorship, and so I think they’ll be for guns soon as well too. When one door closes, another opens.
I agree, time to replace YouTube!