Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), has officially updated its rules to allow adult and graphic content. This change, reported by Tech Crunch on Monday, marks a significant shift in the platform’s content policies under Musk’s leadership.
Adult content and nudity have been present on Twitter for years and were never explicitly banned even before Musk’s takeover in late 2022. The new guidelines explicitly permit users to share adult content “as long as it is consensually produced and distributed adult nudity or sexual behavior.”
The updated guidelines, announced over the weekend, state that “sexual expression, visual or written, can be a legitimate form of artistic expression.” This formal policy allows posting adult content as long as it is properly labeled and not prominently displayed in profile pictures or account banners. Accounts that regularly post adult content must automatically mark their image and video posts as sensitive content.
Furthermore, the policy prohibits adult content for users identified as children or adult users who opt not to view it. It also extends to AI-generated content, animations, cartoons, hentai, and anime.
X’s safety team tweeted, “The new guidelines will bring more clarity to our rules and transparency into enforcement of these areas.”
Since acquiring Twitter with the intention of promoting free speech, Musk has faced criticism for reducing content moderation teams. Under his ownership, the platform has experienced technical issues and reinstated accounts of right-wing conspiracy theorists and former US President Donald Trump.
Musk aims to expand X’s revenue base beyond advertising and transform it into a “super app” similar to China’s WeChat, which integrates messaging, voice and video calling, social media, mobile payments, and online booking services.
