Musk's X updates policy to officially allow users to post consensual adult content
Elon Musk's social media platform X will allow people to show consensual adult content if it's clearly labelled.
The policy was previously in place when the platform was called Twitter before Musk acquired it in 2022.
"You may share consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behaviour, provided it's properly labelled and not prominently displayed," an update on the website reads. "We believe that users should 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," it continues. While adult content was allowed on Twitter before Musk took it over, 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.
“We also prohibit content promoting exploitation, nonconsent, objectification, sexualisation or harm to minors, and obscene behaviours,” a statement said. It added that it does not allow sharing adult content in “highly visible” places such as users' profile photos or banners.
X's policy stands in contrast to other social media platforms, such as Meta's Instagram and Facebook as well as TikTok and Google's YouTube.
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“The platform’s move to allow ‘adult content’ dovetails well with the company’s 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 ‘brand safe’ competitors".
The company appears to be courting people, including creators and artists, who have been marginalised 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 change 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.