Social media platform X has announced that it will now officially allow the publication of consensual adult content as long as it is clearly labeled as such, a move that formalizes a policy that was already in place when the platform was known as Twitter, before billionaire Elon Musk acquired the company in 2022.
in Recent Updates “Users should be able to create, distribute and consume sexually related material as long as it is created and distributed consensually. Sexual material, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression,” the San Francisco-based company says on its website.
Twitter, before Musk took over, also allowed adult content but had no official policy. Twitter said it restricted adult content aimed at kids and content that adults wouldn’t want to see.
“We also prohibit content that exploits minors, engages in non-consensual activities, sexualizes, harms minors or promotes lewd conduct,” X said, adding that it will not allow the sharing of adult content in “prominent” places such as users’ profile pictures or banners.
X’s policies contrast with other social media platforms such as Meta’s Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Google’s YouTube.
“The platform’s move to allow ‘adult content’ fits well with the company’s post-Musk marketing strategy,” said Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communications at Cornell University. “X has been openly provocative in its efforts to differentiate itself from its ‘brand-safe’ competitors.”
The company appears to be trying to attract creators, artists and other people who have been marginalized by other social media platforms that have guidelines that restrict nudity and sexual content, she added.
This policy applies to real material as well as material generated by artificial intelligence.
X targets users who regularly post adult content. adjust In your media settings, you can place all images and videos behind a content warning, which requires users to acknowledge that they want to see the image you post before they can view it.
