The social media platform X says it will now formally allow people to show consensual adult content, as long as it is clearly labelled 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 a recent update on its website, the San Francisco-based company said 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”.
X defines adult content as any consensually produced and distributed material depicting “adult nudity or sexual behaviour that is pornographic or intended to cause sexual arousal”.
This definition also applies to “AI-generated, photographic or animated content such as cartoons, hentai or anime”.
Users who regularly post adult content are asked to place their media behind a content warning. This will need to be acknowledged before it can be viewed.
“You can also add a one-time content warning on individual posts. If you continue to fail marking your posts, we will adjust your account settings for you,” the platform said.
Users under 18 or those who do not indicate their age on their profile cannot click to view marked content.
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.
“We also prohibit content promoting exploitation, nonconsent, objectification, sexualisation or harm to minors, and obscene behaviors,” X 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 properties – Instagram and Facebook – as well as TikTok and Google’s YouTube.
“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.
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