Gun enthusiasts will now have a harder time finding YouTube videos on how to modify their weapons.
The company rolled out a new set of rules for content this week in response to the Oct. 1 shooting massacre in Las Vegas, prohibiting tutorials on how to increase a weapon’s rate of fire, which would include sharing information on “bump stock” modifications used by Stephen Paddock during his rampage.
“We have long had a policy against harmful and dangerous content,” a YouTube spokesperson said in statement released Monday, the U.K. Telegraph reported. “In the wake of the recent tragedy in Las Vegas, we have taken a closer look at videos that demonstrate how to convert firearms to make them fire more quickly and we’ve expanded our existing policy to prohibit these videos.”
Paddock killed 58 people and wounded nearly 500 others as he fired hundreds of rounds from his suite inside the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino.
Authorities retrieved 23 firearms in his hotel room along with 12 bump stocks.
“While it might not seem fair to say you can’t show something because of what viewers might do in response, we draw the line at content that intends to incite violence or encourage dangerous or illegal activities that have an inherent risk of serious physical harm or death,” the Google-owned company’s guidelines read.
SEE ALSO: Gun shops brace for run on ‘bump stocks’
Investigators have not declared a specific motive for Paddock’s attack.
A press conference with Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo is scheduled for Friday.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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