YouTube strengthens policy to protect children from harmful gun videos

YouTube is making new rules about gun videos to keep kids safe. They don't want young people to see dangerous content. The changes start on June 18. Videos showing how to take off gun safety devices or making guns at home will only be for people 18 and older. This is because gun safety groups worry that kids might see these videos and get scared or think violence is okay. Katie Paul from the Tech Transparency Project thinks this change is good, but she wonders why it took YouTube so long to do it. She wants to see if YouTube will really make sure these rules are followed. She says that guns are the top reason kids die in the U.S. Last year, researchers pretended to be 9-year-old boys on YouTube. They found videos of school shootings, gun training, and how to make guns shoot faster. Some videos were very violent, like one with a girl holding a gun or another with a fake head being shot. YouTube says kids under 17 need their parents' permission to use the site. Users under 13 are linked to their parents' accounts. YouTube is popular with kids, but they need to make sure kids don't see harmful content. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg asked YouTube to stop showing gun videos to kids. He said YouTube wasn't following its own rules. Now, he supports YouTube's new rules. YouTube checks with experts to make sure they set the right rules. They want to keep kids safe. YouTube and TikTok are favorite sites for kids.