February 14, 2022
Ms. Susan Wojcicki
Chief Executive OfficerYouTube, Inc.
901 Cherry Avenue
San Bruno, CA 94066
Dear Ms. Wojcicki:
We write to express our serious concern that YouTube continues to host videos that instruct
viewers on how to make and manufacture ghost guns. This content is a clear and direct violationof YouTube’s existing Community Guidelines on firearms, which provide that “[c]ontent
intended to . . . instruct viewers on how to make firearms, ammunition, and certain accessories or
instruct viewers on how to install those accessories is not allowed on YouTube.” 1 While we
acknowledge and appreciate that YouTube has engaged with congressional staff about thisproblem and, in recent weeks, removed some of these videos, we are alarmed that an extensive
amount of this dangerous content still exists on YouTube. It appears that the steps that YouTube
has taken thus far are insufficient.
Ghost guns are unserialized firearms that anyone can get their hands on—without a backgroundcheck—and put together themselves with a 3D-printer or a do-it-yourself gun-making kit
purchased from an unlicensed seller. It costs as little as a few hundred dollars to get the tools andparts to construct a ghost gun, and, with help from YouTube tutorial videos, can take less than anhour to put together.
As a result, ghost guns have become the weapon of choice for gun traffickers and convicted
felons as well as domestic violent extremists and foreign terrorists. Federal, state, and local law
enforcement officials have sounded the alarm that these untraceable firearms present a distinct
and deadly threat and have exacerbated the scourge and surge of gun violence that has ravaged
communities all across the United States.
Notwithstanding your clear Community Guidelines, YouTube has allowed numerous videos thatprovide explicit instructions on how to construct ghost guns to remain available on its platform,
sometimes for years. In December 2021, NBC News, citing a letter from Everytown for Gun
Safety that documented 15 examples of violative videos, 2 reported that “dozens” of these videos
Firearms Policy, YOUTUBE HELP (last visited Feb. 11, 2022),
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7667605?hl=en [hereinafter YouTube Firearms Policy].
2Letter from Justin Wagner, Senior Director for Investigations, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, to Susan
Wojcicki, Chief Exec. Officer, YouTube (Dec. 6, 2021), available athttps://everytownsupportfund.org/documents/2021/12/youtube-ghost-guns-letter.pdf/.
11were still watchable on YouTube. 3 These videos, which were posted between 2013 and 2021,
drew more than 5.7 million total views. NBC News also found that some of these videos wereuploaded to “the same channels as the ones YouTube [previously] took down.” 4During recent conversations with congressional staff about these videos, YouTube committed toaddressing this issue and reviewing content on its platform to identify and remove videos that
violated its Community Guidelines. While we appreciate that YouTube was willing to engage
and that YouTube took some action to take down a number of videos determined to be inviolation, this action was clearly not enough.
Following your review, it took one researcher less than 10 minutes to locate dozens of additional
videos that violated the same Community Guidelines on YouTube’s platform. These videos—accounted for in the attached appendix—have been viewed, collectively, more than two million
times. That view count continues to increase since these videos, as of February 11, 2022, remain
on YouTube. In addition, using YouTube’s search feature and terms like “build pistol,” “polymer80,” or “build 80,” would have returned dozens more examples. The titles of these videos
alone—“How to build a p80” and “How to finish your 80% P320 insert”—should have beenenough for YouTube to spot and take down these videos on its own.
That YouTube has Community Guidelines in place to prohibit content instructing viewers on
how to make firearms is a welcome initiative, but these policies must be enforced—and enforced
strongly—to make any difference. It cannot be the case that YouTube is entirely reactive,
removing these kinds of videos only when news outlets call public attention to violative content,
when gun violence prevention advocates send letters listing specific YouTube videos that violate
its Community Guidelines, or when congressional staff reach out to raise concerns about such
videos. YouTube owns and operates its service and bears responsibility for putting a safe producton the market. YouTube must be proactive and take affirmative steps on its own andexpeditiously to enforce its Community Guidelines related to firearms.
Ghost guns pose a dangerous and deadly threat to communities across the country and make it
more difficult for law enforcement to investigate those who exploit legal loopholes to get theirhands on them. YouTube claims that “[t]he safety of our creators, viewers, and partners is ourhighest priority[,]” 5 and your Community Guidelines make it clear that you agree that
instructional videos on how to make ghost guns have no business being on YouTube’s platform.
However, until YouTube devotes the time and resources necessary to actually enforce its
Community Guidelines, the claim that safety is your highest priority rings hollow. YouTubecan—and must—do more to ensure that the content it hosts does not exacerbate the threat ofghost guns.
In order to better understand YouTube’s handling of firearms-related content that violates yourCommunity Guidelines, I ask that you provide written answers to the following questions nolater than March 7, 2022.
Joshua Eaton, YouTube Banned ‘Ghost Gun’ Videos. They’re Still Up., NBC NEWS (updated Jan. 24, 2022),
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/youtube-ghost-gun-videos-rcna7605.
4Id.
5YouTube Firearms Policy, supra note 1.
32

1. Does YouTube acknowledge that its Community Guidelines related to firearms prohibit
content that provides instructions to viewers on how to construct a ghost gun or 3D-print afirearm?
2. Following recent discussions with congressional staff, YouTube conducted a review todetermine whether certain content hosted on its platform violated its Community Guidelines
related to firearms. Please describe the steps undertaken and methods employed to perform
this review.
3. How does YouTube monitor its platform and identify content that violates its Community
Guidelines related to firearms before the content is reported by community members or otherthird-parties?
a. Does YouTube use machine-learning or other software and/or technology to monitor orprevent the posting or uploading of content that may or does, in fact, violate its
Community Guidelines related to firearms?
i.

If so, how many violations or potential violations of YouTube’s Community
Guidelines related to firearms were identified?
1. How does this figure compare to violations of YouTube’s Community
Guidelines related to other prohibited content, including, but not limited to,child safety, suicide and self-harm, harassment and cyberbullying, and the saleof illegal or regulated goods or services?

4. What steps does YouTube take to prevent users who have repeatedly violated the firearmsrelated Community Guidelines from continuing to post or upload such prohibited content?
5. Once YouTube has determined that content violates its Community Guidelines related tofirearms, does YouTube review other content on the same channel or posted by the same user
to determine whether additional content violates its Community Guidelines?
6. Please describe the processes, factors, and/or standards YouTube uses to evaluate content
reported by community members as potentially violative of its Community Guidelines
related to firearms.
a. What is the average amount of time it takes for YouTube to make a determination on acommunity member’s report of a violation of the Community Guidelines related tofirearms?
b. What is the average amount of time it takes YouTube to remove the prohibited content if
it determines that the reported content violates its Community Guidelines?
c. How does YouTube prevent prohibited content that is removed from being re-posted or
re-uploaded to its platform?

3

d. What teams or individual roles at YouTube are responsible for making determinations
concerning violations of the Community Guidelines related to firearms?
7. Please provide any statistics YouTube maintains relating to—a. The number of videos flagged or otherwise identified as potentially violating its
Community Guidelines on firearms, including the number specific to ghost guns.
b. The number of such videos determined to actually be in violation of its Community
Guidelines on firearms, including the number specific to ghost guns.
c. The number of videos actually removed from YouTube’s platform, including the number
specific to ghost guns.
Thank you for your time and for your consideration.
Sincerely,__________________________________RICHARD BLUMENTHAL
United States Senate__________________________________ROBERT MENENDEZ
United States Senate__________________________________CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY
United States Senate__________________________________CORY A. BOOKER
United States Senate__________________________________EDWARD J. MARKEY
United States Senate

4

APPENDIXAs of February 11, 2022, at or around 10:00 AM (EST), the following videos instructing viewers
on how to construct ghost guns remain on YouTube’s platform.
AuthorViews

Diante Wiley

65,598Flexooo
Tactical Toolbox

9,723
948,657

Maine

203,155Tactical Toolbox

186,561

GlockStore

158,575

Mr BaGGs
1776 Supply Co

121,21484,035

Pew Pew Tactical

59,155The Rogue Banshee

48,215

Savage Guns

42,041Cool Hobby

31,399Andrew H
Savage Guns
Hunting & Guns 21
DIY Polymer80 King

22,19434,521
13,5586,936

P80 Ralph

12,942

P80 Ralph
P80 Ralph

5,632
3,299

Title
GHETTO RATCHET 80% LOWER BUILD NO
DRILL PRESS
How to build a p80
Building a 2011 with EBAY Parts??
Polymer 80 PF940SC Completed | Glock 26 | buildand shoot | 80pbuilder Upper |*Alot of malfunctions*80% 1911 BUILD // START TO FINISH! BONUS
Cleaning!
Pyramid Trigger Installation for Polymer80 CompactLower
Polymer 80 glock 26 build! Lets do it!!
How to finish your 80% P320 insert
Gucci Glock Made Easy! 😏😏 80% Arms GST-9 Full
Kit! [Review]P320 80% FRAME COMPLETION: How to build acustom P320 80% using the JSD Supply MUP1 Jig
P80 g19 lower
Assembly GLOCK Polymer 80 G17 Pro Frame For
KUBLAI P1 P1S /Tokyo marui/KSC
Polymer 80 Glock 19 Gen 3 Timelapse Build
How to finish Polymer 80 Glock19 lower
P80 Glock 26 pf940sc complete build #polymer80
DIY 80% Freedom Wolf from Lone Wolf
How To Smooth Out Your Polymer 80 build for 100%
cycling NO JAMS P80 Ralph
G43 Problems and Fixes P80 Build 9mm JSD
How to Install a P80 Slide Lock Spring Properly5