YouTube bans bump stock instructional videos in wake of Las Vegas shooting

[Greg S]

After the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, YouTube has decided to expand a policy that prohibits harmful or dangerous content to include videos demonstrating bump stocks. A bump stock is a device that uses recoil to slide the firearm back and forth, engaging the trigger each time the weapon kicks forward.

Fully legal under current US law, bump stocks are an inexpensive way to allow a semi-automatic rifle to operate similarly to a fully automatic weapon that would be difficult for regular citizens to obtain. Following the discovery that Stephen Paddock used a bump stock in Las Vegas, even the NRA has been willing to negotiate potential restrictions.

According to YouTube, the ban is not a new rule. All videos containing instructional material on bump stock use were always against community guidelines. However, there were no issues with videos being flagged prior to the Las Vegas massacre and channel owners were not notified of any wrongdoing until recently.

While it may seem like a clear case for YouTube, this selective enforcement of policy does raise some questions. For example, where does "for educational purposes" stop and the intent of harm begin?

YouTube is still a private business that has the right to moderate any content on its website as the company sees fit but with concerns of foreign influence still lingering, any censorship of content could result in backlash from users (including content creators) for attempting to sway public opinion.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/71323-youtube-bans-bump-stock-instructional-videos-wake-las.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Sounds like an unfortunate "gut reaction", but that is Youtube's new mantra ....

 

[davislane1]

While it may seem like a clear case for YouTube, this selective enforcement of policy does raise some questions. For example, where does "for educational purposes" stop and the intent of harm begin?

It doesn't matter insofar as YouTube is concerned. They are destroying their brand under the false impression they have some type of pseudo-monopoly on online video streaming.

 

[jarvis54]

Classic YouTube.

 

[Kotters]

You are in possession of illegal knowledge.

e: Also, uh, I don't know how much you know about firearms, but they don't kick forward. They kick backwards. That's basic physics. Equal and opposite action/reactions.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Why are fully automatic weapons more carefully regulated when it looks like to the rest of the world anybody in the USA can legally buy a semi automatic from their local corner 7/11, no questions asked.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

Way to continue contributing to a censored and controlled society YT. Somehow I doubt the videos in question are instructing "how to kill as many people as possible quickly". Get over yourselves, you are not the police over what is right and wrong.

This society is going in the wrong direction, focusing on everyTHING that WON'T fix the problem rather than on focus on people, which is the problem. Most of the problems with violence, racism, and hate are caused by culture and it is only getting worse. Go ahead and ban everything, ban guns, ban freedom of expression, ban the internet, the problems will continue almost as if they were completely unaffected by the bans. Guaranteed.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

You are in possession of illegal knowledge.

e: Also, uh, I don't know how much you know about firearms, but they don't kick forward. They kick backwards. That's basic physics. Equal and opposite action/reactions.

Full disclosure - I've never used or actually seen a bump-stock.. but isn't it like a spring that allows the the kickback of the weapon to then spring forward so you can effectively just leave your finger in place and because the gun bounces back and forth it acts like an automatic? I.e. - the bump stock causes the kick 'forward' as a result of the bullet's kickback.

Way to continue contributing to a censored and controlled society YT. Somehow I doubt the videos in question are instructing "how to kill as many people as possible quickly". Get over yourselves, you are not the police over what is right and wrong.

This society is going in the wrong direction, focusing on everyTHING that WON'T fix the problem rather than on focus on people, which is the problem. Most of the problems with violence, racism, and hate are caused by culture and it is only getting worse. Go ahead and ban everything, ban guns, ban freedom of expression, ban the internet, the problems will continue almost as if they were completely unaffected by the bans. Guaranteed.

You're right... fixing the issue that caused the 'last problem' won't prevent the next one. the bad guys will just use something else. Outlaw guns, they'll start using bombs. Remember Tim McVeigh? Maybe if he'd been able to buy an automatic weapon he wouldn't have used a fertilizer bomb. (186 died in his bomb). If you really want to make people safe you also have to outlaw trucks (See Edmonton,CA 10/2/17 for the most recent example)

But when something like this happens people want action. And politicians can't not do something and expect to avoid looking completely insensitive. All they know how to do is outlaw something or install more security etc. I would expect the smart politicians sign these things into law knowing full well it won't matter, while the dumb ones think they're 'saving lives'. Either way we get more laws.

 

[Kotters]

Full disclosure - I've never used or actually seen a bump-stock.. but isn't it like a spring that allows the the kickback of the weapon to then spring forward so you can effectively just leave your finger in place and because the gun bounces back and forth it acts like an automatic? I.e. - the bump stock causes the kick 'forward' as a result of the bullet's kickback.

The bumpstock just helps you keep your finger in the same spot. Bump firing uses the recoil of the firearm to push it back, off of the trigger. The key is that you don't activate the trigger by pulling with the finger, you activate it by pushing the rifle forward into a stationary finger. This sort of fire is doable without a stock, or even an aid like a belt loop.

This explains how it works.

 

[ghostf1re]

It's incredible how they are making these stocks into this unbelievably dangerous item that never should have been legal. I can bump fire any semi-automatic rifle without a fancy stock. It's really simple with just a few minutes of practice. It's especially easy with an AK. They can ban or regulate whatever they want, crazy people will still be crazy.