FILE - The opening page of X is displayed on a computer and phone, Oct. 16, 2023, in Sydney. The social media platform X says it will now allow people to show consensual adult content, as long as it is clearly labeled as such. The move formalizes a policy already in place when the platform was known as Twitter, before billionaire Elon Musk purchased it in 2022. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
FILE - The opening page of X is displayed on a computer and phone, Oct. 16, 2023, in Sydney. The social media platform X says it will now allow people to show consensual adult content, as long as it is clearly labeled as such. The move formalizes a policy already in place when the platform was known as Twitter, before billionaire Elon Musk purchased it in 2022. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
The social media platform X says it will now formally allow people to show consensual adult content, as long as it is clearly labeled as such. The move makes official a policy already in place when the platform was known as Twitter, before billionaire Elon Musk purchased it in 2022.
In on its website, the San Francisco-based company said users 鈥渟hould be able to create, distribute, and consume material related to sexual themes as long as it is consensually produced and distributed. Sexual expression, whether visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression.鈥
Adult material was allowed under the pre-Musk Twitter as well, although there was no official policy in place. X said it is restricting adult content for children and for adult users who choose not to see it.
鈥淲e also prohibit content promoting exploitation, nonconsent, objectification, sexualization or harm to minors, and obscene behaviors,鈥 X said. It added that it does not allow sharing adult content in 鈥渉ighly visible鈥 places such as users' profile photos or banners.
X's policy stands in contrast to other social media platforms, such as Meta's properties 鈥 Instagram and Facebook 鈥 as well as TikTok and Google's YouTube.
鈥淭he platform鈥檚 move to allow 鈥榓dult content鈥 dovetails well with the company鈥檚 post-Musk marketing strategy," said Brooke Erin Duffy, associate professor of communication at Cornell University. "X is unapologetically provocative and has sought to distinguish itself from 鈥榖rand safe鈥 competitors.鈥
The company appears to be courting people, including creators and artists, who have been marginalized by other social media platforms that have guidelines restricting nudity or sexual expression, she added.
The policy applies to real as well as artificial-intelligence-generated material.
X is asking users who regularly post adult content to their media settings to place all their images and videos behind a content warning. This requires users to acknowledge that they want to see the posted image before they can view it.
