APOPKA, Fla. – On Tuesday, YouTube shut down the channel belonging to Spike’s Tactical, a well-known gun and AR-15 manufacturer, for what it called “repeated or severe violations of [its] Community Guidelines” policies.
Spike’s Tactical says it knows nothing about any repeat or severe violations, however, and that the giant internet provider’s actions came “without prior notice or warnings.” Organization representatives say they are being targeted because they are an assault weapons manufacturer and because they are a voice for conservative, pro-gun issues.
“This is without question an attack on free speech,” said Kit Cope, marketing director of Spike’s Tactical. “We feel strongly that after they get done going after guns, they’ll continue to ban and erase content that falls in line with conservative ideologies like they have already demonstrated with the deletion of anti-abortion videos and the like.”
YouTube, however, says it does not allow content “that encourages or promotes violent or dangerous acts that have an inherent risk of serious physical harm or death.”
Spike’s Tactical admits that its content is sometimes “controversial,” but denies that it encourages of promotes violence, saying it “has remained nearly entirely educational” and that videos showing the use of such weapons as AR15s is designed only to “demonstrate their products.”
YouTube disagrees, saying that the only videos it allows “shouldn’t be designed to help or encourage others to imitate them.”
Spike’s Tactical, a group that usually does not believe in governmental intervention, now hopes the government will step in and force YouTube to restore its access to the general public.
For now, when the thousands of Spike’s Tactical followers attempt to visit the company’s YouTube channel, they will be greeted by a red banner saying: “This account has been terminated due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s policy against spam, deceptive practices, and misleading content or other Terms of Service violations.”
Facebook has also began a new policy preventing gun manufacturers from paying to boost their posts.
Spike’s Tactical is a family-owned business founded by Mike and Angela Register. It is headquartered in Apopka, Florida, and employs around 40 people. All products are made exclusively in the USA and assembled in Florida. It is regarded as one of the premier AR-15 manufacturers in the world.
